Sword, Diadem, Cup, and Locket
by crystaltokyo9849
Summary: SEQUEL TO DURSLEYS BY NAME, POTTERS BY HEART Harry and Dudley are off to Hogwarts to begin their initiation into one of the greatest magical schools of all time! What will their next seven years there be like with friends and enemies to contend with? AU
1. Mrs Bathilda Bagshot

**Sword, Diadem, Cup, and Ring**

**Disclaimer****: As everyone knows by now, I definitely **_**don't**_** own Harry Potter or **_**any**_** familiar characters, settings, etc. They belong to J.K. Rowling, the woman who started this magical series.**

**Author's Note****: This is the sequel to Dursleys by Name, Potters by Heart; I hope you all enjoy this story, and thanks once again for liking my first story.**

Chapter One: Mrs. Bathilda Bagshot

Mr. and Mrs. Potter of Potter Manor, Godric's Hollow were proud to say that they were perfectly _not_ normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything ordinary or monotonous, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Potter was the Head of the Auror Office in the Ministry of Magic, and at the age of 30, was proud to say he still hadn't lost the good humor of youth, and a certain desire to cause mischief. He was a tall man with messy jet black hair and bright hazel eyes for the most part crinkled with laughter. Mrs. Potter was a slim beautiful red head with brilliant almond shaped emerald eyes which reflected her extreme intelligence and good will.

The Potters had four kids, and although you wouldn't exactly call them angelic, they hardly deserved to be called "those Potter demons" as some of their neighbors were wont to say. The eldest, Harry James Potter, was the spitting image of his father, except for his mother's eyes. He had a knack for getting into trouble, although he didn't go looking for it like his younger brother. The next in line was Annabelle Lily Potter, or Anne, as she insisted being called. Named after a favorite Aunt of her mother's, Anne had shiny red hair like her mum and bright hazel eyes like her dad. Anne, who inherited Lily's intelligence, always had her nose in a book, giving off a very naïve temperament, but when provoked, she was capable of flying into rages that could rival even her mother's.

The last Potter children were twins William Henry Potter and Emmeline Audrey Potter, completely fraternal twins who shared not one characteristic. Will looked like Anne, with red hair and hazel eyes, but his personality was by far very different. Of a mischievous nature which could rival even his dad's and "Uncle" Sirius's, Will always kept his parents on their feet and often drove his mother crazy, although it was a rare day in which a 'puppy' face didn't work. Sweet little Emma now, really was an innocent child, and at age eight, still had her head filled with faraway fantasies and lived in the land of princesses and unicorns. However, we do have to keep in mind that being anything _but_ ordinary, the Potters had full right to, seeing that in their world, such things of our "horrid imagination" as muggles are wont to express, unicorns, dragons, and knights in shining armors did exist!

Last but not least, we must not forget the remaining members of the family, as they did play an irreplaceable role in our previous story. Soon to be 11 years old, Dudley John Dursley, I mean, _Evans_ as we all know, and his nearly 10 year old sister Diana Elizabeth _Evans_, were the only two children who didn't look like the rest of the family, as they took after their contemptible father. Dudley had blond hair recently cut into perfect precision, and watery blue eyes, making him look very similar to one who we all want to see suffer, Vernon Dursley. A child who was very hard to manage when he had first stepped into the foyer of the Potter Manor, Dudley now was a very pleasant kid who, with the careful guidance of Lily and James, became a quick learner and did well in school, unlike before. Diana on the other hand, who looked like her brother, with blond hair and blue eyes, was the exact same as before, as she had never required careful guidance, being one of those fortunate children already grown up at birth.

I need not explain every aspect of the Potter Manor as it is already written in the previous story in great detail, so I am going to now begin the story, which starts out two days after where our previous story left us. To be precise, it was 3:00, on a sunny Monday afternoon. Mrs. Lily Potter was sitting on the long shiny table in the dining room, her face in her hands, and her hair uncombed, while her clothes, which were usually without one fold, were wrinkled and shabby looking. If you looked closely, you might have even glimpsed some traces of tears. Mrs. Bathilda Bagshot, who had just been admitted into the dining room by Isabella the House Elf, was startled to see the state of Lily Potter, usually so calm and tranquil in times of trouble. What had happened to reduce her to this state? Walking with a brisk step, Mrs. Bagshot pulled out a chair and seated herself comfortably on it.

"Dearest, whatever is the matter?" she asked with worry. Lily looked up with surprise.

"Mrs. Bagshot! I…I didn't even hear you! Please…don't mind my carelessness!" Lily exclaimed with great embarrassment, lest the stately old woman be offended. Mrs. Bagshot was known all around the neighborhood as the best housekeeper and most attentive host, and to be seen like this…it was not to be borne!

"Take heart dear, I am not offended. Do I not know you to be a most excellent host yourself? It must be something of grave news to have reduced you, Lily Potter, to such a state! What happened, dear? You can confide in me. You know you can trust me," Mrs. Bagshot said kindly.

"Oh Mrs. Bagshot, of course I trust you, but…but my news is such that, it's hard to repeat," said Lily with a sigh. She and Mrs. Bagshot had formed a bond, much like mother and daughter, ever since Lily's own mother had died, and the passing years only strengthened that bond.

"Lily, you…you and James didn't have a falling out, did you? You're not…getting a divorce?" asked Mrs. Bagshot, quite alarmed. To think of Lily and James, the neighborhood's 'model' couple getting a divorce, was quite horrid.

Lily's face looked dumbfounded. "Why, Mrs. Bagshot! Whatever gave you that idea?"

Mrs. Bagshot flushed. "Nothing dear, except that you do not easily break down, unless it is something utterly unpleasant, and I cannot think of anything else that can have happened."

Lily actually smiled, but so little that Mrs. Bagshot had to wonder if she had smiled at all. "No, it's not that."

"Then what is it? Come Lily, you will feel much better once you confide in someone. Does…does James know, whatever it is?" asked Mrs. Bagshot, looking with concern at Lily's drained face.

"Yes," replied Lily, wiping away her tears and taking a deep breath. "Mrs. Bagshot, two days ago, I received a letter in the mail…" Slowly, and weeping in between, Lily told Mrs. Bagshot all about Petunia's heartbreaking letter. Finally finishing, she said, "Oh Mrs. Bagshot, my poor sister, what she must be going through! She may have been horrid to me in the past, but she didn't deserve _anything_ that happened to her!" Lily wept more and more before continuing.

"I can't imagine how she must be feeling! The man she had been married to for 13 years cheated on her, her closest friend in the world betrayed her, and two of her children are not even hers! My poor sister! How would I have been, if that happened to me…but no, it's too impossible to think about! James is the most loyal man on Earth, and would never even _think_ of doing something like that to me! Oh, why couldn't Petunia find someone like that? Oh why…" At this point, Lily could go on no further, and Mrs. Bagshot laid an old but kind hand on Lily's creamy one.

"Lily, my heart goes out to you right now. What _you_ must be going through! Do you have no idea at all of Petunia's whereabouts?"

"No Mrs. Bagshot, both James and I tried the best we could to trace her through the letter, but surprisingly nothing showed up! James is now at the Ministry, acquiring the assistance of other Aurors to find the whereabouts of Petunia. It shouldn't be too hard, as Petunia's a muggle," said Lily.

"Then why the tears?" asked Mrs. Bagshot, "You _will_ find Petunia, the poor dear, and I know you will give her all the strength she needs right now. Don't you worry, Lily dear, you are just the person to give strength to Petunia, and…(with an angered look) do justice to her. Don't you let off Vernon easily!"

"Of course not!" said Lily more strongly now, "But my first priority is finding Petunia and making sure she doesn't do anything rash to herself!"

"And you will succeed," Mrs. Bagshot said encouragingly, "Now on a happier note, I have news, which I have to admit was the reason I stopped by."

"Oh, what is it, Mrs. Bagshot? I apologize for distracting you with my own little sorrows!"

"Don't apologize! You had every need of a comforting shoulder, but anyhow, my niece, Aurelia Carrington, has given birth to a baby girl this very morning!"

"Oh Mrs. Bagshot, congratulations! What's her name?" asked Lily, happy for Mrs. Bagshot, who had no children of her own, and treated her only niece as her own daughter.

"Maya Jane Carrington!" Mrs. Bagshot stated with grandmotherly pride.

"What a sweet name!" Lily exclaimed, and cooed at the picture taken at the hospital by Mrs. Bagshot, "and what a lovely child!"

All in all, Mrs. Bagshot considered the visit to Lily Potter's house worthwhile indeed, since she had given some much needed comfort and in return received proper praise for her first grandchild.

**A.N. (Yes, I understand this chapter had nothing to do with the story whatsoever, but In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it says that Lily was great friends with Bathilda Bagshot, and I wanted to portray that here. That's all. Review please…and thanks!)**


	2. Owl Post

Chapter Two: Owl Post

Chapter Two: Owl Post

_Severus Snape looked darkly down at the roll of parchment on his desk, which contained the list of the first years soon to be coming to Hogwarts. It was one name in particular that made him glare: Harry James Potter. He didn't seem to see the __Harry__ of the name (or maybe he ignored it), but more of the __James Potter__. So, Potter's insufferable spawn was going to be at Hogwarts for the next seven years, which seemed to Severus as a long never ending road. 'Ah, but he is Lily's child too,' said an annoying voice (which sounded suspiciously like Dumbledore's) in the back of his head. 'Shut up!' Severus said to himself, screwing his face into a scowl. Thinking of Lily made his head hurt, and thinking of Potter's kid as Lily's made it hurt even more. _

_Severus hadn't talked to Lily Evans (he refused to refer to her as a Potter) in person since their graduation at Hogwarts, back in June of 1977, and nothing had pained him more. It wasn't fair that he, who had _really_ cared for Lily, had to lose her while that bullying toe-rag Potter, who (he believed) only cared for her looks, got her. Potter didn't know Lily like he, Severus Snape, did. Potter didn't know how to discern Lily's sensitive heart; how to make her smile while she was put down, or even yet, how to make her laugh. A small smile came to Severus's face when he remembered Lily's sweet tinkling laughter; how the ends of her mouth always quirked up whenever she laughed, and the images of flowers and candy came to one's mind whenever she did. Hers was a golden musical laughter, brightening up any room she entered. What pained Severus out of all was that Lily was _actually happy_ with Potter. He had seen photos of the family in the Daily Prophet regularly, and she looked as if she had no care in the world, and that her children and husband were her very life. Had she forgotten him, Severus Snape, her childhood friend who in his heart of hearts loved her like no other did? _

_The entire time Lily had worked at Hogwarts as a Muggle Studies Professor (she had resigned a year ago), not a word had been exchanged between the ex-friends, other than a required hello or goodbye in the faculty room. It was as if they hardly knew each other. In the secret solitude of his study, tears came to Severus's eyes as he looked at the photo frame of Lily on his desk top. They had been in their fifth year, and the photo had been taken only three days before the unforgettable OWLs incident. Lily had been particularly happy that day, because she had finally gotten an O on her Transfiguration Exam. "Oh Sev!" she had exclaimed, "You know Transfiguration is my worst subject! And do you know what's better? Potter got an E, and he _always_ does better than me in Transfiguration!" Severus hadn't known if Lily had been happier over getting an O in Transfiguration or beating James Potter. _

_With a heavy heart, Severus sighed and started on his way to Dumbledore's office. He had been summoned by the wise headmaster, who perhaps knew why Severus had been looking very dull the past few days. "I won't let Potter's green eyes affect me," Severus said out loud, "And I don't care if he is Lily's child!" _

_"Really?" the annoying voice inside his head said again. Severus told it to shut up, but this time he did so aloud by accident, thus earning strange glances from passing professors._

-One Month Later-

June 23, 1991

"Happy Birthday Dudley!" was the sound that greeted Dudley Evan's ears when he came downstairs for breakfast. The whole family was gathered around the dining room table, and right in the middle of the presents surrounding it, was a delicious looking chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, Dudley's absolute favorite. He ran up to Lily and James and gave each of them a big happy hug.

"Thanks Aunt Lily, Uncle James!" he exclaimed with a bright smile. Lily and James, both laughing, hugged him back. After his sister and cousins wished him a happy birthday, Dudley got ready to blow out the candles on his birthday cake, when Lily whispered, "Don't forget to make a wish!"

Dudley had no trouble choosing what to wish for. He knew in his heart of hearts that he wanted nothing more than his poor mother with them. After that talk with Mrs. Bathilda Bagshot one month ago, Lily had told Dudley, Diana, Harry, and Anne about Petunia, and what had happened to her. Will and Emma were too young to hear such things as affairs and what not, so all they were told was that their Aunt Petunia had been badly hurt, and they were currently looking for her.

When they had heard the news about their mother, Diana had burst into tears, but Dudley had stayed silent. It had been hard for him to digest the news about what his father had done to his mother. He had realized long ago that Vernon Dursley hadn't been the best of people, but to have been _this evil_, it was just hard for Dudley to absorb the news told to him so suddenly. Of course, his aunt and uncle had been very supportive, and his uncle had even given him a heart to heart talk about everything that happened, but it was at least two weeks before Dudley had started accepting everything. And in the meanwhile, no news of Petunia had reached them. In the past month, James had often stayed very late into the night in his office, trying to trace Petunia, but it was to no avail. Many Aurors working under him had been sent out all over Europe, but it seemed as if Petunia had disappeared off the trace of the Earth (not a very pleasant thought). There was not one charm the Auror Office _hadn't_ used to trace her.

'I want mum to be found, and for her to stay here, so that we all can be together,' Dudley wished inside his head. Then, taking a deep breath and hoping against hope his wish would come true, he blew the candles out, and the family cheered, Will and Emma being the loudest.

"And now…presents!" Lily declared cheerfully.

"Yay! Open mine first!" Emma cried out happily.

"No! He's gotta open mine!" Will argued. Dudley laughed.

"Why don't I open Emma's first, Will, since she's younger, and then I'll open yours, alright?" he suggested. Will pouted but gave in.

"Oh, alright!" he said, mock glaring at Emma, who stuck her tongue out at him. Emma's present turned out to be a book of magical short stories called Tales of Beatle the Bard and More. Although Dudley didn't read a lot, he promised Emma that he would start it that very night, and she squealed with delight. Next, he opened Will's present, which was a box of magical candy and sweets. "Oh wow, thanks Will!" exclaimed Dudley, who was secretly relieved. Coming from Will, he had been expecting something more 'dangerous'.

Harry had gotten Dudley a book called Famous Beaters and secret techniques. Ever since staying with the Potters, Dudley had taken a liking to Quidditch, although not as much as Harry and James, and did best in the beater position. He thanked Harry too, and although his hands were itching to start the book, he managed to finish opening his other presents, which were: new expensive robes, a gold wrist watch, a stationary kit with bludgers on the edges of everything (from Anne), and…a TV!

Dudley's mouth fell open at the sight of the 24" wide and 36" long television set complete with a DVR.

"Is that…is that mine?" he stuttered in astonishment. Lily and James beamed at him. "Of course! We knew how much you still yearned for a television, and I'm partial to it myself, seeing as I grew up with one, so we got one for you! We hope you like it!" Lily said.

"Like it, I love it!" Dudley exclaimed, "Thanks a lot, Aunt Lily, Uncle James!"

"However," James began, "We'll have to put it in the living room, because Emma's dying to see Cinderella in 'real life' as she's only ever heard the story."

"That's alright" Dudley said, "This is still too good to be true!" Everyone laughed at his expression.

"Well, we might as well have some breakfast in all this excitement," Lily said, calling Isabella the House Elf to please serve the breakfast out in the patio in the back yard.

Breakfast was an elaborate affair, with everything delicious on the table. Dudley was having the time of his life, discussing Quidditch with Harry and his Uncle, but the best part came when a large barn owl swooped through the backyard and dropped a thick envelope on Dudley's plate. Lily and James exchanged secret smiles, while Dudley looked at the letter with confusion.

_To Mr. Dudley Evans_

_#121 Godric's Hollow, Potter Manor_

_2__nd__ bedroom on the 3__rd__ floor_

"A letter for me?" questioned Dudley, "And why does it have my room number on it? That's kind of creepy!"

"Open it," James prompted, and Dudley did so. There were two sheets of parchment in the envelope, and Dudley picked up the first one.

_Dear Mr. Evans,  
We are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress

Dudley's mouth had fallen open after reading the first line, and he quickly gave the letter to his Aunt and Uncle. "Why…why didn't you tell me it was my Hogwarts letter?" he asked. "It nearly gave me a heart attack. I didn't expect it so soon!" But Dudley's face had broken into a grin, and Harry said, "Lucky you! _I_ still have to wait until the very end of July before getting mine!" James laughed.

"Don't worry Prongslet," he said affectionately, using Harry's nickname that Sirius had invented, "You'll get yours in no time, and then the two of you will be shipped of to Hogwarts, where soon you'll forget your old mum and dad!" James faked brushing off tears, and Dudley and Harry laughed. Just then, two pops were heard in the living room, and in a few seconds, Sirius and Remus came through the doorway, both with a present in their hands.

"How's our little Dinky Duddydums?" exclaimed Sirius as a way of greeting. Remus rolled his eyes behind him and warmly wished Dudley a happy birthday. "Thanks!" said Dudley, who had long ago learned to ignore 'Uncle' Sirius when he was "weird".

"Hey!" protested Sirius, acting offended. "I so kindly greet my "nephew", and I get ignored?"

"Padfoot, shut up," James said calmly.

"Well, I never!" Sirius said, looking offended. Harry and Dudley rolled their eyes at his behavior while Anne and Diana giggled. Will was ignoring everyone and munching on a muffin while Emma was daydreaming. Dudley, unable to resist himself, opened their presents. Remus had gotten him a photo album filled to the brim with photos of his last two years at the Potter Manor, and as Dudley flipped through them, he couldn't help being amused at himself and his expressions in the first few pages: moody and angry.

"You changed a lot," Lily whispered to him. She had been standing behind him while he was looking, and a smile was on her face.

"Thanks, Aunt Lily," Dudley said, smiling back at her. He then turned to Sirius's present, which happened to be a large box full of prank items.

"Make Hogwarts think the Marauders came back!" Sirius said. Dudley laughed.

"Thanks Uncle Sirius."

One Month and eight days later

July 31, 1991

"Will, I'm going to kill youuuuuuuuuu!!" was the voice that greeted everyone's ears that morning. Harry came thundering the stairs, chasing after little Will. He was drenched with water from head to foot.

"Harry, why are you chasing Will?" James asked, "On the other hand, don't answer. Knowing him, he probably poured water on your face or something."

"More like all over me," Harry grumbled before entering the kitchen.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" greeted his dumbfounded eyes.

"Huh?" he said, "Oh yeah, it's my birthday!"

"Don't tell me you forgot!" Sirius remarked incredulously. Harry blushed with embarrassment and everyone laughed. Harry entered the kitchen happily and let his mum give him a big hug.

"Oh, Happy Birthday, sweetheart!" she murmured, giving him a kiss on his forehead.

"Mum, everyone's looking!" he complained, and laughingly, Lily let go of him. His dad then ruffled his hair and said proudly, "It's becoming more and more like mine everyday!"

"Open your presents, Harry!" Emma cheered.

"This time, he's opening _mine_ first!" insisted Will, and Emma stuck her tongue out at him.

Harry spent the next hour cutting the cake (designed as a Quidditch Pitch) and opening presents (most of which were Quidditch books) and when he finally got to the last one, he said, "There's no label!"

"No label?" Lily questioned anxiously, "Who could it be from? You don't think it's cursed or something, do you?"

"No, there's a charm around our house that won't let cursed objects inside," said James very calmly. Lily looked suspiciously at him. "Are you hiding something from me?" she asked.

Just then, Harry exclaimed in delight, "A Nimbus 2000!" Lily narrowed her eyes and James looked guiltily at her. "It just came out in the market," he said, "Come on, Lills, a boy's gotta have the latest broom at all times!"

"You got him a Nimbus 1000 only two years ago, James, and it's perfectly in good shape!" Lily argued, exasperated.

"So I can't keep it?" Harry asked with a puppy face he had learned from his Uncle Padfoot. Lily's heart melted.

"Oh, I guess it can't hurt," she said.

"Harry, can I have your Nimbus 1000?" asked Will excitedly.

"No, you are way too young to fly," Lily said strictly.

"But mum…" Will whined.

"No Will, and that's final." Will made a face behind her back and James looked apologetically at him.

"And James, you are not to take him flying behind my back," said Lily. This time, it was James who made the face, and Dudley and Harry snickered.

"Harry, I think you have a visitor," Remus observed, looking towards the window.

"My Hogwarts letter!" Harry exclaimed, running towards the window excitedly. Taking the letter from the large barn owl, he tore open the envelope and read the letter eagerly.

_Dear Mr. Potter,  
We are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress

While Lily was scribbling a reply to McGonagall saying both Harry and Dudley were going to attend Hogwarts, Harry was receiving congratulations from the family.

"Your letter looks exactly like mine!" remarked James, glancing at it. "They didn't change a word all these years!"

"When can we go to Diagon Alley?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Today, if it's okay with everyone," said Lily, looking at the group.

"Fine with me," said James, "since it's a Saturday. How about you, Padfoot, Moony?"

"Let's go!" Sirius cheered, while Remus agreed. Dudley and Harry were nearly giddy with excitement, and were to first to wait in front of the fireplace.

"Must we floo, mum?" asked Harry, who hated using the fireplace to go anywhere.

"We're a large group, so yes," said Lily.

A.N. (I hope you all liked this chapter. Yes, I know, nothing interesting happened, but I do have to get all the boring stuff over with before I can send Dudley and Harry to Hogwarts, don't I? The next chapter won't be on for a time yet, so please bear with me.)


	3. Diagon Alley and Severus Snape

**A.N. (I hope you all enjoyed the other two chapters! In this one, there will be quite a few passages taken out of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but I will mark them and give them credit, so don't worry!)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

Chapter Three: Diagon Alley and Severus Snape

Harry fell flat on his face on the floor of the Leaky Cauldron, while Dudley landed gracefully on his two feet. Turning a smirking face towards his cousin, he remarked, "You'll never get used to floo powder, will you?"

"Shut up," Harry muttered, pretending to glare at Dudley. After the rest of the family had arrived in the Leaky Cauldron, the large group greeted Tom the Bartender and a few others sitting at some tables they knew.

Then James and Sirius, muttering between themselves about work in the Auror Office, led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dustbin and a few weeds. Dudley, who had never in his two years with the Potters gone to Diagon Alley before, was confused for awhile, but then he told himself that there was probably a secret passageway or something, since Diagon Alley _was_ a wizarding town.

"Uncle Moony?" called Harry.

"Yes, Prongslet?" Remus answered.

"How's Hogwarts like?"

"Well," said Remus with a smile, "It's a wonderful place where you meet life-long friends, learn brilliant classes taught by…interesting teachers, and even meet your soul mate one day."

"Why didn't you meet yours yet?" Dudley asked bluntly. Remus laughed.

"Well, let's just say I haven't found her yet," Remus answered, looking towards Lily and James. Both he and Sirius, still unmarried singles, had long ago decided that unless they found love equal to the one Lily and James had for each other, they would not get married.

James, meanwhile, was tapping some bricks on the wall above the dustbin.  
"Three up... two across..." he said cheerfully, looking at Dudley and Harry. "Right, stand back, everyone."

The bricks he had touched quivered, wriggled, and in the middle, a small hole appeared. It grew wider and wider, until a second later they were facing a large archway, which showed them to a path that led them on to a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" Lily said with a smile. "Oh, I remember the time I had gotten my Hogwarts letter! Professor McGonagall was the one who brought my family and me to Diagon Alley. It was a _wonderful_ experience!" She stared dreamily off into space.

Dudley, who had been staring at everything in front of him with amazement and wonder, asked, "How was it like, Aunt Lily?"

While Lily regaled the kids with stories about her day in Diagon Alley years ago, James, Sirius, and Remus were leading the group to Gringotts Bank, reminiscing about their First Year at Hogwarts.

"Good days, those were," said Sirius reflectively.

"Yes, they were," said Remus.

"We were the best of friends weren't we? You two, me, and…" James left off abruptly, not wanting to say the traitor's name.

"And Frank Longbottom," finished Remus helpfully, referring to the fifth boy who had been in their dorm and who was also a great friend of theirs.

"Neville is starting Hogwarts this year too, isn't he?" asked Sirius, after looking gratefully at Remus.

"Yup," said James, "He was born only a day earlier than Harry. I remember Alice and Lily were overjoyed that their kids were born so soon after each other." The three became silent, thinking of the terrible fate that had gone to the kind Longbottom family. Frank and Alice Longbottom had always been great friends of the Potters, as Alice had been one of Lily's five best friends at Hogwarts, and as said before, Frank had shared a dorm with the Marauders back in the old Hogwarts days. Frank and Alice had gotten married only two months before Lily and James did, and both of their first children had been born only a day apart. But after Voldemort had been vanquished by baby Harry on that fateful Halloween night, Frank and Alice had been attacked only a few weeks later. Thankfully, Baby Neville had been staying at his Grandmother Longbottom's house that night, and had therefore not suffered the same fate as his parents.

Frank and Alice had been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse many times by the Lestranges, who had demanded the whereabouts of the Dark Lord since they couldn't believe he had been 'killed' by a mere baby. After figuring out that Frank and Alice didn't know about the Dark Lord's whereabouts, the Lestranges had left, leaving behind the couple who had become permanently insane due to the effects of the curse. A beginning Auror at the time, James had been present when his boss and his team had gone to investigate the crime. He had broken down in front of everyone after glancing at the insane Frank, and was inconsolable for a long time. Lily too wasn't an exception, once she found out about her best friend's terrible fate. She, Harriet Potter (James's twin sister who currently lived in Wales with her husband and two children), Nan Vance, Serena Takahashi, and another girl, Mary McDonald, who was their best friend a year younger, had tried to revive Alice, but it was to no avail. The Longbottoms had been admitted to the insanity ward in St. Mungo's, and to this day, they were still there. Poor Neville had been living with his grandmother ever since, and they had rarely heard about him, because the poor woman wanted to keep her grandson secluded from society in general, which she deemed dangerous.

"Are we almost there?" asked Will impatiently.

"Yes, look there," Lily answered, pointing towards Gringotts.

They had reached a snowy-white building which towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -  
"Yeah, that's a goblin," said James quietly as they walked up the white stone steps towards him.

The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Dudley noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there.

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. The group made for a counter.

_(The underlined part is a passage from Chapter Five, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. However, I replaced a few words (like Hagrid) with characters from my story, as it wouldn't' make sense if I had kept them.)_

"Excuse me, we would like to open a vault for this boy," said James, pointing at Dudley, "and we would also like to withdraw from vaults 686 and 687 please." Vault # 686 was the Potter family vault, and the size of three large rooms, it was filled with galleons, sickles, knuts, and even rare precious gems and family heirlooms which were too priceless to be placed in the house. #687 was Harry's vault, and started at the age of five, it held his monthly allowance. All four of the Potter children had vaults started at the age of five, and all the allowance given to them was kept there, inaccessible until they reached eleven and would be going to Hogwarts. As the heir to the Potter family fortune, Harry, whose vault would contain all his money until the age of 21 (when he would inherit the Potter estate), would inherit the Potter vault 686 and the money he had in 687 would automatically be transferred in it. The rest of the Potter children would inherit 15 of the wealth each when they too turned 21. As for Lily and James's future retirement, they had a separate vault for that (#685), which contained a very substantial amount of money. Since Dudley had only arrived at the Potter Manor two years ago, his vault would be opened now.

"Right away, sir," said a goblin, and then called, "Griphook!" Griphook was another Goblin who led the large family to one of the doors leading off the hall. Just before they left the lobby of the bank, a familiar face caught the eyes of the Potter family.

"Hagrid!!" Harry and Dudley yelled out excitedly, as the warm and kindly groundkeeper of Hogwarts made his way towards them. Hagrid gave all of the children a bone-crushing hug, and said in a gruff but kind voice, "Off ter shop for Hogwarts supplies, eh?"

"Yes," said Dudley and Harry, who loved the company of Hagrid. "Why don't you come with us, Hagrid?"

"Can't," said Hagrid with a regretful look. "Dumbledore sent me ter do some important Hogwarts business." Then, in a low voice to Sirius and James, he said, "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen." Sirius and James nodded understandingly, while the kids, especially Harry and Dudley, looked on in curiosity. Lily gave James a questioning look, and he whispered to her, "I'll explain when we get home. The kids aren't to know." She nodded understandingly.

"Well, why don't you come with us anyhow, Hagrid?" asked James. Hagrid readily agreed and set of with the family.

Griphook held open the door for them. Harry (who had never been to Gringotts before) and Dudley, who had expected to see more marble, were surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and two small carts came hurtling up the tracks towards them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off.

At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry and Dudley tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. 

Their eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but Harry and Dudley kept them wide open. Once, they thought they saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but was too late. 

_(From now on, if there are underlined passages, it means that they are from the book, alright? However, there will be slight changes to them for the most part so that the story makes more sense with my characters in it.)_

Finally, they stopped in front of vaults 686 and 687 and got out, with Hagrid still in one of the carts waiting for them. Dudley couldn't keep his mouth shut at his aunt and uncle's wealth. Never had he seen so much money in one place.

"You've got to be the richest family on Earth!" he exclaimed. Lily and James laughed, and James said, "I don't know about the Earth, but in the wizarding world, we are tied with the Malfoys and Malcolms."

James scooped some money from Harry's vault (which was filled with heaps of galleons, sickles, and knuts) into a small pouch and gathered a larger amount from the family vault to put into Dudley's new one. Dudley's vault was #684, and after James left a substantial amount in it and a smaller amount in another pouch, the family got back into the carts. Harry and Dudley waited in excitement to find out what was in vault 713.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine and Dudley leant over the side to try and see what was down at the dark bottom but Lily pulled him back. "Be careful!" she said.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Dudley asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook, with a rather nasty grin.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top-security vault, Harry and Dudley were sure, and they leant forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first they thought it was empty.

Then they noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry and Dudley longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask. 

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.

Soon, the group was out in the bright sunlight, and Hagrid bid his goodbye. "I have to get this to Dumbledore!" he said, feeling very important. They all waved goodbye to him rather regretfully. Hagrid was great company, and to see him go _was_ rather depressing.

"Where do we go first, Mum?" Harry asked excitedly. Now that he had a pouch full of money, he longed to go everywhere (especially Quality Quidditch Supplies).

"Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions," replied Lily promptly. They all groaned. Trust a woman to decide to go to the clothing store first!

It was Dudley who first noticed people gawking at them as they (4 adults and 6 children) walked down the street.

"Uncle James," he asked, "Why are people staring at us?"

"Because I'm so famous!" replied Sirius with a proud smile. Everyone laughed, but Harry began to look a little uneasy, along with James and Lily.

"Dudley, we told you about what happened 10 years ago that Halloween night, remember?" asked James. Dudley nodded, and a look of understanding crossed his face.

"Oh, so everyone's gawking at Harry, because he killed Voldemort?" asked Dudley rather loudly. Several people who were close to them shrieked and some of them even ran away.

"What did I do?" asked Dudley, rather panicked.

"Absolutely nothing," said James, glaring at everyone who was staring at them and muttering, "Some people are still cowards when it comes to _his_ name, although he's been gone for ten years now."

"So I shouldn't say Vol...Voldemort's name anymore?" asked Dudley in a quieter tone.

"You definitely should, Dudley," said Lily firmly, "Professor Dumbledore often said fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Also," put in Remus, "If people get into the habit of saying Voldemort's name, he wouldn't be so feared even today, and (god forbid) if another dark lord ever comes in the future, people would get into the habit of saying his/her name."

"Right," agreed Sirius.By that time, they had reached Madam Malkin's and went inside. There was a small que, so James said, "Lily, why don't you and Remus stay here with Harry and Dudley? Sirius and I will take Anne, Diana, Will, and Emma and get the books and Potions ingredients."

"Alright," said Lily, looking at James gratefully. It would be awhile before their turn came, and if they got the other supplies, it would save _a lot _of time.

The line began to move quickly, and soon, Harry and Dudley, along with a pale faced boy, hoped onto stools to be measured.

"Hullo," said the boy in a bored drawling voice, "You two go to Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," said Dudley, while Harry said, "Nice to meet you." The boy, after a moments thinking, took their outstretched hands and shook them rather quickly.

"My father's next door buying my books and my mother's up the street, looking at wands," said the boy. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first-years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

Harry and Dudley really did not like the boy, but they kept pleasant countenances, after exchaning a glance.

"Have you two got your own brooms?" asked the boy. Harry's face brightened. Finally, a subject he liked!

"Yes," said Harry, "I've got a Nimbus 2000!" The boy's eyes opened wide, and he looked a little envious.

"A Nimbus 2000? How'd you get that? You're not even in Hogwarts yet!"

"My mum and dad got it for me for my birthday, which is today," said Harry rather proudly. The boy looked at him for a second before turning to Dudley. "Do you have a broom?" he asked.

"Yes," said Dudley, "a Nimbus 1000." The boy looked at him enviously too before saying, "I only have an Accelerator 2000, but father will probably get me a Nimbus 2000 if I threaten not to do any school work at Hogwarts!" Harry and Dudley exchanged another look. They disliked this boy more and more. "So what house do you think you'll be in at Hogwarts?" asked the boy.

"Gryffindor for sure," said Harry confidently, "Where dwell the brave at heart." The boy narrowed his eyes, while Dudley said, "I don't know. Anything would be fine, I guess."

"Who are you, anyway?" asked the boy, looking more towards Harry, "I've seen you somewhere."

Harry nervously flattened his hair. "I don't know what you mean."

"You're Harry Potter!" the boy exclaimed, staring at Harry in surprise. "I know where I've seen you before, in the news paper!"

Just then, Madam Malkin came over to the trio and handed each of them their uniform parcels. Harry and Dudley, who were happy for an excuse to leave the pale faced boy, went in search of Lily and Remus, finally finding them talking near the busy door.

"All done?" asked Lily, smiling at her son and nephew affectionately. She walked over to the counter and paid Madam Malkin before the four of them left the store.

On the way to Flourish and Blotts, they encountered James, Sirius, and the rest of the kids, all with parcels in their hands. "We got the books and Potion ingredients!" said James cheerfully. "Why don't I quickly apparate home and leave the parcels there so that the rest of our shopping can be easy?"

"Thanks a lot dear," said Lily, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "Meanwhile, I'm going to Flourish and Blotts to quickly get a cookbook Isabella (their house elf) really wants but is too modest to ask."

"We'll take the kids to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor," suggested Remus. "Ice Cream!" shouted Emma happily, and Will started chanting, "Ice Cream! Ice Cream! Ice Cream!"

"How about you, Anne, Diana?" asked Sirius, smiling at the two girls who were holding hands. Anne and Diana had formed a deep sisterly bond the past two years, and were inseparable.

"Yes please," they chanted.

_Severus Snape looked out the window of the Apothecary, and started when he saw that the annoying family with too many children were the Potters_. _And there was Lily, beautiful as ever, laughing at something Potter was saying. Severus narrowed his eyes at the sight of his loathsome school rival, and turned them away to glance at the children. He could clearly discern the eldest Potter, proud as his father, with that confident smirk on his face. Next to him was a red headed girl who…looked just like Lily! But…she was missing Lily's eyes! Why must that Potter boy be the one to inherit Lily's beautiful eyes? It made it harder, much harder, for Severus to loath that boy. How would he be able to make his life miserable if he had Lily's eyes?_

_Severus saw James Potter apparate away, and Lily walk away from the group. This was his chance. Walking quickly and hiding his face to make sure no one saw him, Severus followed Lily until he saw that she had gone into Flourish and Blotts. With a determined step, he followed suit and saw her walk into the cookbook section. Standing in front of her, he said, "Ms. Evans, we need to talk." He addressed her as he often had when she had worked at Hogwarts._

_Lily looked up from the book she was glancing at and looked surprised, but quickly said, "I am Mrs. Potter now, Mr. Snape, and have been for 12 years."_

_Snape ignored her and repeated, "We need to talk…Lily."_

_"I don't see what there is to talk about," said Lily frowning, "You know everything ended the day you called me Mudblood in fifth year."_

_"Lily, give me a chance to explain myself, at least now," said Severus._

_"Explain what? You clearly chose the Dark Arts over our friendship. You needed the Death Eaters more than me. You proved it, Snape," said Lily._

_"Lily please, I was young, and didn't know what I was doing. Don't you…" Severus was about to say, "…love me," but he knew this wouldn't be the correct time to say that. Instead he finished, "…miss our friendship?"_

_A flicker of regret crossed Lily's face. Yes, she did miss Severus's friendship, more than anything, but she was not going to admit it. That Gryffindor pride which had often been hidden all those years ago rose up now. Severus had called her a Mudblood. That hurt, that betrayal of his friendship (which she had thought to be real), was still there. He had been the bestest friend of all her friends…but had ended their friendship himself by calling her Mudblood. No, Lily Potter hadn't been a Gryffindor for nothing. That stubbornness, which she had often complained was a characteristic of James which Harry inherited, kicked in. She was not going to forgive Severus Snape, not ever…but in her heart of hearts, Lily knew that she longed for Snape's friendship again, his kindly company which has always delighted her when she was young. _

A.N. (To all of those who think Lily secretly loves Snape, she does not. She's only craving his friendship, and innocent as she is, she doesn't know the deep love Snape still has for her. Lily loves James, her soul mate, but she longs for the friendly company of Snape, who to her was the dearest of all her friends.)


	4. The Great Adventure

**A.N. (Sorry for the long wait guys, but college work kept me from writing everyday, but here's a nice long chapter to make up for the long wait! And one more thing: I can't decide which house Dudley should be in at Hogwarts, so I'm posting a poll in my profile so that you all can vote. When I get to the sorting hat part, I promise to take your votes into consideration!)**

Chapter Four: A Great Adventure

The afternoon wore on as the Potters bought the rest of the supplies for Harry and Dudley. They were even allowed to choose a pet from the Magical Menagerie that they might want to take to Hogwarts (an owl, a cat, or a toad). Harry chose a snowy white female owl with bright green eyes like his, and Dudley, who was about to choose a deep gray male one, was horrified at the possibility of Harry's owl and his owl breeding and so decided on a light gray female one with blue eyes.

Harry, who knew little Emma's love for naming new things, quickly chose a name for his owl. "I'll call her Hedwig," he said, thinking about a cool sounding name he had come across once in one of the books in the Potter Library.

Emma, who was disappointed that she hadn't name Harry's owl "snowbell", said, "Dudley, name your owl Jasmine!"

Dudley, who hadn't been as quick as Harry with naming his owl, tried not to show his disgust at that hideous name and said politely, "Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of Artemis! Isn't that a pretty name?"

But Jasmine it was and Jasmine it would be, for Dudley had forgotten that once a magical owl heard a name suggested for it, it would respond to no other. The men in the group laughed hysterically at Dudley's predicament, while he glared good-naturedly at them.

Lily, who felt pity for poor Dudley, said, "Why not call it Jas for short?" Emma agreed and Lily whispered in Dudley's ear, "Doesn't that sound better than Jasmine?" Even Dudley said yes to that (although somewhat reluctantly), and the group left for Ollivander's Wands for All Occasions, the last stop for the day and also the place Dudley and Harry had been looking forward to all day.

Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty for a single spindly chair. Harry and Dudley felt strangely as though they'd entered a very strict library, and looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Everyone jumped, and saw that an old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," said Harry and Dudley nervously.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "And who might this be?" he asked, looking at Dudley.

"Dud…Dudley Dursl…I mean, Evans sir, Dudley Evans," replied Dudley, going red in the face. Mr. Ollivander nodded at him and turned to the adults.

"Ah, Mr. James Potter, it seems only yesterday you were in here herself, buying your first wand. Mahogany, eleven inches, pliable. Powerful and excellent for Transfiguration, am I correct?" asked Ollivander, knowing full well that he was.

"As always, Mr. Ollivander," replied James, thinking back to when he had gotten his wand and Ollivander had told his parents precisely what their wands were.

"And Ms. Evans here, I apologize, _Mrs. Potter_, favored and still favors a Willow, 10 ¼ inches, long and swishy and excellent for Charms, I presume?" Ollivander stated, peering closely at Lily for awhile.

"Yes," said Lily politely, averting her eyes. Mr. Ollivander had always creeped her out a bit. James stood protectively by her side, guessing her thoughts. After "guessing" (more like telling) Remus and Sirius what their wands were, Mr. Ollivander turned back to Harry and Dudley.

"And that's where..." Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. "I'm sorry to say that I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out in the world to do..." He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, his father intervened, somewhat crossly (as he often did whenever anyone bothered Harry about his scar).

"Mr. Ollivander, the boys are quite eager to try out the wands," he said, trying to keep a polite expression on his face.

"Yes, yes, of course," said Ollivander. He pulled a long tape measure with silver marking out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?" 

"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Dudley, while Harry said the same thing. 

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Dudley and Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.

As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter, Mr. Evans. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns or dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

After Ollivander was done measuring, he let the tape measure crumple to the floor and pulled out a few boxes from the shelves. "Which of you wants to go first?" he asked. Harry and Dudley shrugged and Ollivander said, "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Harry took the wand and waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander took it out of his hand almost at once. "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try-" Harry tried - but he had hardly raised it when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. "No, no - here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on the walls.

Everyone cheered, and Harry felt happiness spread through him. He had found his wand. His mother gave him a kiss and his father gave him a proud smile while Sirius and Remus both hugged him. Dudley high-fived him while the rest of his siblings had smiles on their faces.

"What's my wand good for?" asked Harry excitedly.

"Well, let's see now," said Mr. Ollivander, quite relieved that one of his customers had found their wand. "Yes, yes, your wand will be exceptional in Defense, Mr. Potter. Try to prove me wrong when you get to Hogwarts, but I suspect your best subject will be Defense against the Dark Art."

"Like me!" said Remus, quite pleased.

"Ah well," said James, "I was hoping it would be Transfiguration like me, but DADA is even better!"

"But don't slack off on the other subjects now, Harry," said Lily, giving him a stern smile. "Especially Charms," she whispered with sparkling eyes.

"Yes mum," replied Harry, rolling his eyes.

As Mr. Ollivander put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, he muttered, "Curious... curious..."

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why, its brother gave you that scar." Harry swallowed.

"Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great." Harry looked nervously at the old man, and looked away from everyone else. He was being compared to Lord Voldemort himself. What could be worse than that?

Next was Dudley, who did not have to try out nearly as many wands as Harry did. His fourth wand (12 inches, Oak, long and pliable) brought forth blue and gold sparks, and also congratulations from everyone. Ollivander predicted Dudley to be partial to Potions, although it did not require much wand work, and also Charms like Lily (much to her delight). After paying for the wands, the large group left the store and walked tiredly to the Leaky Cauldron. Will and Emma, who had walked all day, were tied and whining, and Sirius and James had to carry them to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Sweetheart, you're quiet," Lily remarked, looking over at Harry, who was the only one not talking. Dudley was chattering with Remus about Hogwarts, and Anne and Diana were skipping and gossiping with each other. "What's wrong?

"Nothing mum," said Harry rather quickly, "I'm fine."

"Are you thinking about what happened at Ollivander's?" asked Lily, reading his thoughts. Like for herself, it was very easy recognizing Harry's feelings by looking into his emerald eyes. Harry, hesitating for a moment, said, "Yea."

"Oh Harry, don't think for a moment that you're anything like Voldemort," said Lily comfortingly. "You had a better healthier childhood, and you're surrounded by people who you love and who love you. That's one thing Voldemort can never grasp: love. So even if your wands are brothers, it doesn't mean anything, sweetheart."

"Really?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Definitely," replied Lily, giving him a warm smile, but she had a guilty feeling building up inside of her. Was it the right time to tell Harry about the prophesy? Dumbledore had told James and her that it was best not to tell Harry about the prophesy until necessary, and since Voldemort was gone, would the need ever come? What Lily had never understood for the past ten years was: how had Voldemort been defeated without the prophesy fulfilling itself? How had her little baby vanquished him? It was all a puzzle to her, even though Dumbledore had explained to her that Harry had lived due to her sacrifice and love for him. But Lily knew how strong prophesies were, and once made, could not be changed or taken back.

Was Voldemort really vanquished? Maybe he was still somewhere out there, weak and defeated, but bidding his time for revenge. Did that mean he was going to return in the future, and Harry _would_ have to fight with him face to face? Lily shivered. She didn't want her children to experience Hogwarts in a time of war like she had. Of course, Hogwarts had been the best seven years of her life not counting marriage, but still…that haunting feeling of insecurity, and not knowing who to trust, hadn't been forgotten by Lily. She still remembered walking the Halls of Hogwarts after hours during her prefect duties, with a creeping sense of fear that something dangerous and related to Voldemort was just around the corner. No, she didn't want Harry, Dudley, Anne, Diana, Will, and Emma to go through that too.

Lily looked around at the cheerful setting of Diagon Alley, with happy families and friends laughing, gossiping, and catching up with news. She remembered how Diagon Alley had been in her 6th and 7th years: chilly, not because of the cold, but because of the emptiness and fear, and lonely, with lots of shop fronts empty due to fear that Voldemort would at any minute attack. Lily contrasted Diagon Alley in her first year to that of 6th year. It had been a major change. In Harry's 5th, 6th, or 7th years, would it be like that? Would Voldemort somehow find a way to return?

Somehow, Lily had a creeping sense of reality that Voldemort wasn't gone, at least not permanently. He was bidding his time, and would attack most furiously when everyone least expected it. Hopefully, the wizarding world hadn't forgotten the terror he had caused before. Lily knew no one had, but was it enough to withstand him once again? Many families had been torn apart. Would people be willing to fight him again? Lily knew James too felt what she did. Outside of his cheerful "I could care less" exterior, Lily knew James was just as unnerved as she was. Especially since two weeks ago, he had been anxious and tense most of the time, right after coming home from a meeting with Dumbledore at Hogwarts. Looking after the children, Lily had been too busy to wonder what had been bothering him, but today, after seeing Hagrid taking that grubby looking package from the top-security vault in Gringotts, Lily was impatient to get home. James and Sirius knew what that package was, and what was going on, and Lily had a creeping sense of fear that it concerned Voldemort.

"Lily, are you alright?" James asked, looking at her with concern. During the walk to the Leaky Cauldron, Lily had turned pale and had shivered quite a few times.

"I…I'm fine," Lily said, "I just have a little headache." And it wasn't a lie either. All the events of the day flashed through her mind, giving her a slight head ache: Severus's talk with her, Hagrid retrieving a highly important object from Gringotts, and Ollivander commenting about how Harry's wand was the brother of Voldemort's.

The group quickly went to Potter Manor through the fireplace and Sirius and Remus took their leave, after again wishing Harry a happy birthday.

That evening, after all the kids had been tucked in and put to bed, Lily confronted James about the object in Gringotts.

"Well, you know I hide nothing from you Lily, but you have to promise that none of the kids will know of this, _especially Harry_," said James, stressing the importance of the matter.

"Of course I promise," said Lily, looking offended. "I don't tell the kids everything!"

"I know that. I'm just saying that in this particular matter, none of them should know. Anyway, you know that two weeks ago, Dumbledore called me to his office, right?"

When Lily nodded, James continued. "Do you remember how the chocolate frog for Dumbledore looks?"

Lily was confused, but nodded. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you remember how on the back of the card, it talks about Dumbledore, and it mentions his role in making a Sorcerer's Stone along with a guy called Nicolas Flamel?"

Lily gasped. "Are you saying…that the package Hagrid took was…the Sorcerer's Stone?" James nodded.

"But how…and why," Lily stammered.

"Lily, Dumbledore's theory that Voldemort may still be alive proved to be correct," said James gravely. Lily gasped and covered her mouth in horror.

"Are you serious? How does…how does Dumbledore know?" she asked, filled with dread.

"I don't know how he knows, but Dumbledore says there are traces of him in a jungle in Albania," said James, "And Dumbledore thinks Voldemort is after the Stone so that he can drink the elixir of life and become…"

"Immortal," finished Lily quietly, looking horrified. "James, this is terrible! What do we do? How do we stop this?"

"Well, there's nothing we can do except protect the stone," said James, "That's why Dumbledore called me to his office two weeks ago. The Stone is going to be protected on the right-hand side of the third-floor corridor, and some selected teachers are going to place protections around it, in case Voldemort ever _does_ (God forbid), cross Hagrid's three-headed dog covering the trap-door. Dumbledore wants Sirius and me to place a protection on it too."

"What are you going to do?" asked Lily, taking everything in.

"We don't know yet," said James, "But it'll have to be good, something Voldemort will _never_ expect!"

The rest of the summer holidays passed by in a flurry of activities, with Harry and Dudley packing and repacking their supplies in their brand new trunks. Harry flipped through his textbooks once or twice before packing them in his trunk, but Dudley, who had a gnawing fear in the pit of his stomach that he would not fit in (as he had grown up as a muggle most of his life), read and re-read his books several times before packing them away. He found that Potions, as Ollivander had predicted, was most fascinating to him. As Dudley read about all the various Potions he would learn to make, with their cool simmering fumes and rare priceless ingredients, he couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts and start. "Hopefully, our Potions teacher is nice," he thought to himself. He had overheard his Uncle James talking about the Hogwarts Potions professor as a slimy old git, but he hoped he was wrong. It would be awful is his favorite class was taught by an unfair teacher.

Soon, the morning of September 1 dawned bright and early. Harry and Dudley were woken up at 7:00 sharp by Lily, who wanted to get to King's Cross early so that their goodbyes wouldn't need to be hurried. By 8:00, Harry and Dudley were ready and downstairs with their trunks and owls secured in their cages. Hedwig and Jaz were eyeing each other suspiciously, as if deciding whether or not it would be safe to make friends. Lily was making pancakes by the stove as James, Sirius, and Remus (who had come over to bid their young "nephews" goodbye), were looking over the Daily Prophet.

After breakfast, the large group assembled in front of the Mercedes Benz in the garage. "Must we go by car, mum? It will take forever!" said Anne, eyeing the blue car.

"Yes dear," said Lily, "We're a large group, and don't want to attract attention, do we?"

The six kids and four adults got into the car along with the two large trunks and two owl cages.

"This doesn't look really…normal," Dudley noted, staring at the interior of the car which had been magnified to fit all of them.

"Of course not," said James with a wave of his hand, "How else would we all fit?"

The traffic was horrible on the way to King's Cross. At half past ten, they finally parked in the packed parking lot and got out. Lily and James both placed the boys' carts on trolleys and wheeled them into the station.

Just as they were getting close, they heard a voice say, "Now, what's the platform number?" The person who talked was a slightly chubby red-haired woman.

"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, probably her daughter, "Mum, can't I go…"

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first," said the mother. Four boys all with flaming red hair like their mother and sister suddenly came into view, and James exclaimed, "It's the Weasleys!"

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed in delight, "Molly! Over here!"

The plump woman turned around and a grin spread over her face. "Lily Potter, is that you? What a wonderful surprise!" The two women ran over and hugged each other. Molly and Arthur, her husband, had been Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts in their seventh year while Lily and James had been in their first year. Lily had always looked up to Molly as an ideal elder sister, and had struck a deep friendship with her. After Molly and Arthur had graduated from Hogwarts, the friends had drifted apart for some time, with little contact except a letter or two every year. The last time Lily and Molly had seen each other was five years ago.

"Are those your kids?" Lily asked, looking warmly at the four boys and one girl (who looked shyly up at her).

"Yes," said Molly happily, "My two elder ones aren't here today though. Bill, who is 20, graduated from Hogwarts three years ago and Charlie, 18 years old, graduated only last year. Bill's working as a curse breaker in Gringotts Bank in Egypt and Charlie's a dragon keeper in Romania. These three here, Percy, Fred and George, are attending Hogwarts, Ron is going to start this year, and my youngest and only daughter, Ginny, will start next year."

"You're going to be in our class then!" exclaimed Anne as a greeting, looking at little Ginny Weasley happily, hoping to find a true friend in her.

"And who is this little girl?" asked Molly warmly, looking at Anne, "She looks just like you Lily, but with James's eyes!"

"She's my second-born," said Lily affectionately, "After Harry here."

"Why hello dear," greeted Molly warmly, looking at Harry, "So ready for Hogwarts then? I've heard so much about you!"

Harry instantly warmed up to Molly Weasley. She wasn't like everyone else he had met, who stared at his scar first. She seemed to understand his uneasiness with being "famous", and treated him as a normal person.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Harry greeted politely. After Lily introduced the rest of her children and her niece and nephew, James came over to her and said, "Lily dear, it's almost time. We should probably get the kids seated on the train."

Lily looked at her watch and yelped. "Oh my, you're right! We're almost running out of time!"

"How do we get onto platform 9 ¾, Uncle James?" asked Dudley.

"Simple," replied James, "Just run through the brick wall between platforms nine and ten. Do it fast, as not to attract muggle attention."

"Let's continue our talk after the Hogwarts Express leaves," Lily said to Molly, who nodded in agreement before turning to talk to her kids. In groups of twos, the Potter family went through the barrier between Platforms nine and ten, and came onto the packed and loud platform of 9 ¾. A scarlet steam engine was waiting to depart, and a sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. Dudley looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the ticket box had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. He grinned.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to each other in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Lily and James pushed Harry and Dudley's trolley off down the platform in search of an empty seat. They passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," they heard the old woman sigh. Lily and James looked at each other with raised eyebrows. So this was Neville Longbottom. He had Alice's blonde hair plastered over his head and her blue eyes, but his facial features were that of his father Frank's. Lily glanced at him with a pang in her heart. Neville reminded her of her best friend Alice, and it was hard to see him without remembering the terrible fate that had gone to the once happy Longbottom family.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on."

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. Little Will longed to see what was inside that box, but his mother kept a firm grip on his arm so that he wouldn't run away.

Finally, they found an empty compartment way back in the train, and after leaving the two trunks and the owl cages in the compartment, Lily and James turned to Harry and Dudley.

Lily burst into tears and gave Harry and Dudley a big mushy hug and kissed them each on the cheek twice. "Oh, I'm going to miss you two!" she exclaimed emotionally. Harry and Dudley reddened, especially since some passing people were smiling behind their hands at Lily's action.

"Mum!" Harry exclaimed at the same time Dudley said, "Aunt Lily, people are watching us!" James rolled his eyes at Lily behind her back and Sirius and Remus started laughing. Lily let them go and a stern expression replaced her tears.

"Now listen you two. Have lots of fun at Hogwarts, but remember not to neglect your studies! And don't do anything that would get you into detentions, understand?"

"Yes, mum," and "Yes, Aunt Lily," were the replies that came to her. Next, James ruffled their hair and said proudly, "Remember, get into _a lot_ of trouble! Hogwarts has to think the Marauders came back!"

"James!" Lily said, giving him a severe look. Sirius and Remus laughed.

"Study well, and make us proud," Remus told them, giving them a small hug.

"Forget about studying, make the teacher's lives as hard as you can, and remember to give Filch grief!" said Sirius before dodging Lily's furious gaze.

"Just remember, don't do anything you wouldn't do at home," said Lily. Harry and Dudley started nodding furiously, trying to take in everything their guardians were telling them. After giving their siblings hugs and bidding everyone goodbye, Harry and Dudley finally boarded the train and settled into their compartment. They looked out the window and saw their family talking to some friends of theirs. Off to the other side of the platform, Harry and Dudley could make out the Weasley family, and could hear snatches of their conversation.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mum."

Molly had just taken out her handkerchief. "Ron, you've got something on your nose."

"Mum - geroff." He wriggled free.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. Harry and Dudley grinned at each other, seeing the red-haired twins making fun of their little brother. It reminded Harry of how he sometimes teased Will.

"Shut up," said Ron.

"Where's Percy?" said their mother.

"He's coming now."

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and Harry and Dudley noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the Prefects have got two compartments to themselves -"

"Oh, are you a Prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a Prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there."

She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

"Now you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've - you've blown up a toilet or -"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mum."

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

Feeling guilty that they had been listening in on their conversation too much, Harry and Dudley leaned back and stayed silent for awhile. Lily and Molly again met up with each other and started talking, while Little Ginny turned shyly to Anne and Diana. It seemed the young girls were already striking a friendship before Hogwarts.

A whistle sounded. "Hurry Up!" Molly said, and Fred, George, and Ron clambered on to the train. They leant out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and Ginny began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mum."

Lily waved to Harry and Dudley, and kissed them goodbye one more time. Anne and Diana looked like they wanted to cry too, but didn't. "Harry, bring me a Hogwarts toilet seat, will you?" asked Will, waving furiously, his cute dimpled face in a smile. Emma had long ago burst into tears, and was currently sobbing her heart out on her dad's shoulder. "I want to go to!" she continuously said. James, Sirius, and Remus waved proudly at the boys and Sirius even said, brushing away a fake tear, "Our boys are all grown up! Soon we'll be planning their wedding!" Harry and Dudley blushed furiously and glared at him.

The train began to move. Harry and Dudley saw Lily and Molly waving and their sisters, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed; then they fell back and waved. Harry and Dudley felt a rush of excitement and nervousness. They were on their way to a wonderful adventure, and by the sound of the stories Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus had told them, it was going to be exciting.

**A.N. (I hope you liked this chapter! Tell me if I made any mistakes with the flow of the story, or if something doesn't make sense! And remember, please vote for the house you want Dudley to be in!)**


	5. The Comeuppance of Draco Malfoy

**A.N. (I'm really very sorry guys, for the long update, but college life is no joke! I've been kept busy with tests, papers, and an ungodly amount of homework! I solemnly vow not to abandon this story, however, so rest assured! LOL! Well, enjoy, and thanks everyone for voting on Dudley's house! I am removing the poll right now, so you'll find out which House won in the next chapter.)**

Chapter Five: The Comeuppance of Draco Malfoy

The compartment door opened, and the boy named Ron, who (as Harry and Dudley had seen while spying on the Weasley family) had been embarrassed by his mother and twin brothers, walked in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked nervously, pointing at the seat next to Dudley. "Everywhere else is full, and I nearly got hexed by a Slytherin prefect who threatened to curse me if I didn't find a seat fast."

Harry and Dudley shook their heads and beckoned to Ron. "The more the merrier," said Dudley cheerfully. Ron smiled slightly and sat down.

"So our mums are friends," Ron said, looking at Harry.

"Guess so," replied Harry, "Your name's Ron, right?"

"Yup, and you're Harry Potter," he said, trying not to make it obvious that he was giddy with excitement at meeting the 'boy who lived'. Turning to Dudley, he said, "And you are…"

"Dudley Dursley…erm…Evans," said Dudley, blushing. He still hadn't gotten used to his new last name. Ron stared at him for a few seconds and Dudley explained, "Change of last name, big story."

"Ah," said Ron, dropping the subject.

"Hey Ron," came a voice from the doorway. All three jumped, and saw Ron's brothers, the Weasley twins, grinning at them.

"Listen, we're going to Lee Jordan's compartment down the train. He's got a giant tarantula!" said one of them. The Weasley twins started grinning mischievously.

"Right," muttered Ron, turning red for some reason. Harry and Dudley looked at each other, an action not missed by the twins.

"Harry!" said the other twin, "and…"

"Dudley," Dudley once again introduced himself.

"Right, Harry and Dudley," said the twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Gred and Forge, I mean, Fred and George Weasley, at your service. And I see you've met our baby brother Ron."

"Go away," Ron mumbled, embarrassed. Fred and George grinned again and said, "See you later!"

Harry and Dudley waved. "You've got cool brothers," Harry told Ron, "Reminds me of Uncle Padfoot and Dad."

"Uncle Who?" asked Ron with a confused expression.

"Sirius Black, one of Uncle James's Hogwarts mates" explained Dudley, "His nickname is Padfoot, so we call him 'Uncle' Padfoot, although he's not really related to us."

"That's a weird nickname," observed Ron.

"Oh, that's because he's a…," Dudley began, but Harry stepped on his foot.

"…weird person?" Dudley finished lamely, giving Harry an apologetic look. He had been about to say Animagus, but since Sirius was an illegal Animagus, Harry didn't want the information to be blurted out to just anyone. Ron looked at the two strangely while Harry resisted an urge to smack his forehead in exasperation. When it came to lying, Dudley wasn't the best.

"So…do you really have the…the…" said Ron, turning redder by the minute. This time, Harry looked at him strangely.

"The what?" he asked. With embarrassment showing on his face, Ron pointed to his forehead and Harry resisted the impulse to roll his eyes.

"My scar?" he asked, lifting his bangs. Ron's eyes rounded in wonder and his mouth nearly fell open. Dudley resisted the impulse to laugh as well.

"So is that where You-Know-Who…" asked Ron.

"Tried to kill me but failed, and thus leaving me with a stupid title and ruining my chances to a normal life forever? Yea," said Harry, rolling his eyes. Ron stared at him.

"And no, I don't remember anything," said Harry, slightly irritated. It was annoying how he always received the same question every time after meeting a new person.

"Sorry, I didn't mean…" mumbled Ron.

"No, I apologize for getting so worked up. It's just that everyone asks me the same question all the time," explained Harry. Ron nodded.

"I guess it _would_ get annoying," he admitted, "though of course, _I_ would never know."

"So, you like Quidditch?" Ron asked, and immediately, Harry grinned while Dudley rolled his eyes.

"Finally, a subject I like," Harry said, and then he and Ron eagerly discussed Quidditch, its different tactics, their favorite sports teams, and such, as Dudley once in a while put in his opinion.

"Hey you two," he said after awhile, "I'm going to go to the bathroom. Be back in a minute, alright?" But Ron and Harry barely looked up as Harry just nodded his head to acknowledge him. Dudley shook his head in amusement as he exited the compartment. On his way to the bathroom, he bumped into a boy and both fell to the floor.

"Hey, I'm so sorry!" Dudley apologized, getting up and holding his hand out to the boy. The boy got up and said good-naturedly, "That's alright. I wasn't looking where I was going either."

"Dudley Evans," Dudley said, shaking the boys hand.

"Justin, Justin Finch-Fletchley," the boy said, "You a first year?"

"Yup," said Dudley, "You?"

"Same," said Justin, "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," said Dudley, "Um, not to be rude or anything, but I _really_ have to go to the bathroom. That's where I was headed actually."

Justin laughed. "Well, see you later, Dudley!"

"Yea, see you later Justin," Dudley called back, nearly running to the bathroom.

The compartment door opened and Ron and Harry looked up. A plump woman with a trolley full of sweets stood there smiling. "Anything off the trolley dears?" she asked warmly. Harry jumped up and looked at Ron. "Aren't you going to get anything?" he asked. Ron's ears turned red and he held up a package of lumpy sandwiches.

"I'm all set," he said gloomily. Harry hid his smile and went to the cart to see what she had. There were Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron cakes, Liquorice wands and a number of other things. Harry bought a bit of everything and paid the lady eleven sickles and seven knuts.

"Hungry, are you?" asked Ron, eyeing the large amount of treats Harry had tipped onto his seat.

"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.

Ron unwrapped his lumpy package and took out four sandwiches. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Want to share?" Harry asked, handing Ron a chocolate frog. Ron's ears turned red again. "I shouldn't," he said, "Mum did work hard on these."

"We'll eat em' together!" Harry said cheerfully, and Ron brightened up. They spent a few minutes devouring the sweets together when the compartment door opened and Dudley walked back in, this time with a boy. Dudley's eyes immediately brightened at the sight of so many treats, that he nearly forgot to introduce the boy.

"Guys, this is Justin Finch-Fletchley," he introduced. Harry and Ron introduced themselves, and Harry was relieved to see that Justin didn't gasp when he told him he was Harry Potter. 'He's probably a muggle-born,' thought Harry.

"Do you mind if he sits here? He doesn't really like the people he's sitting with," explained Dudley.

"Not at all," said Harry, and Ron nodded in agreement. Justin smiled shyly at them and took a seat across from Ron.

The group spent time eating sweets, talking, and getting to know each other. "I got Dumbledore again," said Harry, holding up a Dumbledore Collecting Card from his chocolate frog. "I've got about ten of him back home."

"Can I have it?" asked Justin eagerly. "I don't have any chocolate frogs, as I'm a muggle-born." Harry gave the card to him and said, "Now you can start a collection of your own."

Justin turned over his card and read, "Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."

"If any of you get Agrippa, can I have it?" Ron asked, "I've been trying to find that card for ages!"

"I have two of them back home, want one?" asked Harry. Ron's mouth fell open and he stammered, "If…if you really want to part with it! Oh, wow!" Harry laughed and said, "Of course! As I've said already, I have two!"

For the next hour, the four boys talked and laughed and had a good time getting to know each other. The countryside now flying past the window was looking wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills. There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry and Dudley had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Harry. 

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..." He left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. But I can't talk. I've only got Scabbers after all."

Soon, the talk turned to houses and Ron said, "My whole family's been in Gryffindor for as long as I can remember. I think I even remember Mum telling me that the last fifteen generations of our family have been in Gryffindor. So it's pretty much decided that I'll go there too."

"Same here; most of us have been in Gryffindor too, but I think we have a handful of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs too though," said Harry.

"As I'm a muggle-born, I have no clue which house I'll be in, so I guess I'll be happy with any," stated Dudley.

"I don't get it," said Ron, furrowing his brow, "You're related to a pureblood family, but are a muggle-born? How's that possible? Not that it's anything bad!" Ron blushed, as he often did when he thought others would take his words in an offended way, but Dudley and Justin now knew Ron long enough to know that he meant well.

"I'm not a Pureblood. I'm a Half-Blood," said Harry, "My mum's a muggle-born."

"And my mum is Aunt Lily's sister," finished Dudley. Ron nodded, understanding.

"Justin, which house would you like to be in?" asked Dudley.

"Well," said Justin nervously, "Anything I guess, well, except…"

"Slytherin?" asked Dudley, with an understanding look on his face.

"Well, who wants to be in Slytherin?" asked Ron, "That'd be a nightmare! Leaving that aside, how do you dislike that house already?"

"It's not really the house I dislike, it's more…." said Justin, trailing off.

"Phineas Rookwood, third year Slytherin" said Dudley, "Justin had a nasty encounter with him when I was coming back from the bathroom. A Hufflepuff prefect rescued him from getting hexed, but Justin's afraid that if he's placed in Slytherin, Rookwood's going to get revenge on him."

"So any of you tried out any spells yet?" asked Harry, changing the subject.

"Fred and George gave me one to try out on Scabbers, my dumb pet rat," Ron said, taking out his pet rat from his pocket. The rat, very plump and not very sleek looking, was snoozing. If one hadn't known that it was sleeping, they would have thought it was dead. "But it doesn't really sound like a spell, guess it's worth trying though." He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hairs nearly poking out. Anyway -"

He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open. The toad less boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. 

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. Harry, Dudley, and Justin stared.

"Er - all right." He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daises, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said all this very fast. 

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. Dudley and Justin introduced themselves too.

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. He had never known that.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, It sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." And she left, taking the toad less boy with her.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. Harry, Dudley, and Justin snickered. 

Dusk started settling in outside as the Hogwarts Express sped further and further into the hilly countryside of Scotland. Inside the Hogwarts Express, the kids started dreaming about the feast awaiting them in the Great Hall. In Harry and Dudley's compartment, the four boys started talking about all the great food to be expected. Harry and Dudley had already entertained the group with exciting tales of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and…a certain someone who shall remain unnamed.

"Dad and his friends were the rule breakers of their time," said Harry, his eyes shining. "Of course, Mum and Uncle Moony would try to keep them in line, but it obviously never worked."

"They were called the Marauders," continued Dudley, "And Uncle Sirius said that they had a whole drawer to themselves in Filch the caretaker's office."

"I don't believe it," said Ron astounded, "Even Fred and George don't have a whole file cabinet to themselves, and they're the scariest trouble makers I know. And your dad didn't seem very…_prankish_ to me when I saw him at King's Cross, Harry."

"Of course not," scoffed Harry, "He's an Auror, and has to look 'serious' when making an appearance in the outside world, but only we know that inside, he's never _really_ grown up."

"He's the funnest kind of dad I've ever seen," said Dudley, rather wistfully. "You're really lucky to have such great parents, Harry."

"I know," said Harry softly, thinking not for the first time how lucky he was to have such a great family. Suddenly, the compartment door opened yet once again, but this time, the visitor wasn't much welcome.

Three boys entered and Harry and Dudley recognized the middle one at once; it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. "Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" 

"Yes," said Harry boldly. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.

" Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle,' said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking, "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." 

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask you who you are. My father told me that all Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford."

Ron was about to stand up to challenge Malfoy to say that again, but Harry contained him, looking carelessly at Malfoy.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" he asked, wary of the boy. Lily and James had told him to be cautious of the Malfoys. Of course, his dad had said they were a bunch of Dark Art loving gits, but his mother, after telling him not to judge someone by their last name, told him to be cautious nevertheless.

"Who knows, you might even become friends with Lucius Malfoy's kid, but remember this Harry dear," Lily had said softly, "Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy joined Voldemort when he was in power long ago, so be careful around their lot."

"Well, now that you ask," said Draco Malfoy (and Harry was brought back to the present), "I was going to bring a proposal of friendship to you. I can show you who to associate with and who not to. I can see clearly that you don't know much about purity of blood, associating with blood traitors and…mudbloods."

Harry jumped up at the sound of mudblood, losing his cool, and said coldly, "Take that back, Malfoy."

Malfoy smirked. "Oops, I nearly forgot. Your own mother is a mudblood, isn't she, Potter?"

Harry's fist flew out of nowhere and contacted with Malfoy's nose. Malfoy stepped back, clearly taken back and in pain. His nose was now sporting blood.

"How dare you," he hissed, but just then, sounds of footsteps distracted him and he walked away quickly with Crabbe and Goyle, but not before muttering, "I won't forget this Potter!"

The footsteps were those of Hermione Granger, the know-it-all. "Have you been fighting? You'll be in trouble before you even get to Hogwarts!" she scolded. Everyone looked at her. She, a complete stranger, was scolding them? Who did she think she was? "We're almost there anyway. You had better change into your robes," she said, her brows furrowed disapprovingly.

"We will if you _leave_," Ron snapped. Hermione glared at him back before leaving the compartment and closing the door.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper," said Harry ruefully, now that his anger had cooled down.

"That's alright. Malfoy was being a jerk anyway," said Ron, and Dudley and Justin nodded their heads in agreement.

"Still…I'd appreciate it if you…ah, not mention this incident anywhere," said Harry meekly.

"You can count on us, mate!" said Ron cheerfully, who had been very excited when Harry broke Malfoy's nose. The boys then quickly changed into robes and stuffed the remaining sweets into their pockets. Ron's robes were a bit short, as they were hand-me-downs, but no one noticed.

"You reckon we ought to bring our wands with us? Malfoy might decide to get revenge on the way to the castle," said Dudley, stuffing his wand in his robe pocket.

"Wouldn't hurt, although we wouldn't be any better off, seeing as we know no curses," said Ron grimly, stuffing his old wand in his pocket also. Justin and Harry did the same too. Soon, the train came to a stop in the Hogsmeade station. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the many students and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs'-years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry and Duds?" Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy, who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

" Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud, collective "Oooooh!" The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake, Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione, as Dudley and Justin had lost them in the crowd of first years. Harry and Ron glimpsed them in another boat with two other kids, and waved. Dudley and Justin waved back cheerfully and excitedly.

"Ernie Macmillan," a round faced blonde boy introduced himself, shaking hands with Dudley, Justin, and a petite brown haired girl.

"Dudley Evans," said Dudley merrily, shaking Ernie and the girl's hands.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley," said Justin with a friendly smile.

"I'm Hannah Abbott," said the girl, giving them all shy smiles.

"Everyone in? ' shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself, "Right then - FORWARD!" And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as they first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out on to the rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rocks after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last on to a smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge oak door. Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

Off in the back, Draco Malfoy glared at Harry and Ron with narrowed eyes. "No one messed with him and got away with him. Gingerly touching his nose, which had been healed by the Head Boy, but which still hurt a little, Draco muttered to Crabbe and Goyle, "Don't you two _dare_ tell anyone about this! I will deal with them myself." Of course, the two just nodded mutely, cowards at heart although they looked rather strong and dangerous.

**A.N. (So how do you like it? I hope it wasn't boring! Please review and tell me truthfully how it is. I welcome criticism, because I want to improve my writing skills as this story progresses.)**


	6. The Sorting Hat's Mistake

**A.N. (Thanks guys, for the reviews. Since you waited so long for this chapter, I made it extra long. Hope you like it! And I have one question for you: Do any of you think the underlining of passages taken from the book is annoying or gets in the way of you reading? Or do you want me to continue underlining them, so that you can see how much of the original story I'm changing? Just let me know, alright? Well, enjoy!)**

**2****nd**** A.N. (There's a new poll in my profile titled, ****Who're your two favorite male characters in the Harry Potter series?**** Please do take the chance to vote. Thank you!)**

**1****st**** Poll Winners: In my first poll: ****Which two female characters do you like the most in Harry Potter? ****the top five winners are: Luna Lovegood (10 votes), Hermione Granger (9 votes), Ginny Weasley (8 votes), Lily Evans Potter (7 votes), and Nymphadora Tonks (7 votes). **

**2****nd**** Poll Winner: You'll find out in this chapter which house won!**

**Reminder: I changed the title of this story by the way. It is now called ****Sword, Diadem, Cup, and Ring**

Chapter Six: The Sorting Hat's Mistake 

The door flew open and a tall, greasy haired wizard with a sallow expression and cold black eyes opened the door. He did not look very happy to be there, and as his eyes drifted over the nervous looking first years, they narrowed, especially when they landed on a young boy with unruly jet black hair and -his heart beat painfully- the most brilliant emerald green eyes.

"The firs' years, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, "But…where's Professor McGonagall?"

"An urgent office call made her unable to escort the first years," stated Professor Snape simply, offering no other explanation. "Well?" he called out to the first years, "Are you coming or not?"

The kids all looked at each other rather uncertainly. This man didn't look like one to cross, but they followed him through the large door and into the entrance hall. The children's steps immediately slowed down, as they all stared in awe at the magnificent place they were in. Even Harry and Dudley were impressed. You could have fit the whole of the Potter kitchen into the wide sweeping entrance hall. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led up the stone steps. 

"Well? Don't slow down!" Professor Snape snapped, glaring at the quivering first years. "I _do _have lessons to plan, and I don't find waiting around for a bunch of dunderheads taking their sweet time getting acquainted with this place particularly enjoyable!"

"A surly one, isn't he?" whispered Ron in Harry's ear. Harry nodded, and secretly agreed with his dad's description with Professor _Snivellus_. His mother of course, had told him not to be rude to any of his teachers, but his dad had told him to give them much grief if they were rude to _him_.

"Professor Snape, I will take over from here," came a voice from the top of the stairs. They all turned around and saw a tall stately lady in emerald green robes with her black hair done up in a tight 'no nonsense' bun. She had a very stern 'don't mess with me' expression, but there was also an amiable air around her, unlike Professor Snape.

Professor Snape looked relieved and gave her a curt nod as a thank you, sweeping out of the room.

They followed the lady across the flagged stone floor. They could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right - the rest of the school must be already here, but the professor showed the first years in to a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they usually would have done, peering about nervously. 

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall, "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here at Hogwarts any triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking and you will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can whilst you are waiting."

Professor McGonagall's penetrating eyes rested for a few seconds on Ron's pink nose, Neville's cloak which was fastened under his left ear, Dudley's socks which had gone down and now exposed a bit of his ankle, Harry's messy unruly hair, and…Malfoy's somewhat bloody nose.

"Mr. Malfoy," she said sharply, immediately noticing Lucius Malfoy's features in the young boy's face, "Whatever happened to you? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

Some of the first years sniggered at Malfoy's uncomfortable expression. "No," said Malfoy boldly and a little rudely, "I tripped on the train, that's all." He said all this with a cold stare at the other kids, as if daring them to make fun of him. Immediately the sniggers ceased and the kids looked elsewhere.

"Well, alright then," said Professor McGonagall with a stern expression, 'I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She left the chamber. 

"How do they sort us, do you suppose?" asked Justin Finch-Fletchley, who was standing nervously behind Ron and Harry.

"Dunno mate," said Dudley, "Uncle James and Aunt Lily didn't tell us anything. They said it was a surprise."

"Fred and George said it was going to hurt a lot," remarked Ron anxiously. Harry laughed.

"Don't worry; I know for sure it doesn't hurt. Mum said it was actually pretty fun," he said amused.

Ron looked relieved. "That's good then, because Fred and George kept going on about battling mountain trolls."

Harry chortled."No offense mate, but you actually believed them?"

"I didn't believe them!" said Ron, defending himself but turning pink. "I just repeated what they said!"

"Sure," said Harry. Ron mock glared at him. Suddenly, people around them gasped, and some even screamed. Harry and Ron turned around to see what the commotion was. They soon found out. About twenty ghosts had streamed through the wall opposite them, talking and muttering amongst themselves.

Pearly white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be sorted, I suppose?" A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Excitement bubbling through him, Harry confidently followed Professor McGonagall, incidentally becoming the "leader" of the line, out of the chamber, down the hall, and through a pair of double doors which led into the Great Hall. Ron was behind Harry, and Hermione Granger, the bossy know-it-all girl from the train and boat, was behind him. Ron seemed disgruntled by this arrangement, because the entire way, Hermione kept muttering about all the different spells and charms she knew, and wondering which one she'd need to be sorted. Dudley and Justin, who had been in deep conversation, were somewhere in the middle of the line.

As the doors to the Great Hall opened, all the first years gasped in surprise and pleasure. Most of them had never seen such a splendid and breathtaking place before. The room was lit by thousands of candles that floated airborne over four long shiny tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The four tables all had glittering golden plates and goblets, which were so shiny that they saw their reflections on them as they passed through the middle of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables to get to the center of the hall.

At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty and silver. 

Dudley, as he looked at the huge hall with so many students, felt his nervousness increase. Would he, a Muggle-Born wizard who had not known anything about magic's existence until the past two years, fit in? He looked over at Justin, who looked even more nervous than he, and felt a little braver. After all, Justin hadn't known anything about magic at all until only a few months ago, and he, Dudley, had known for two years. Dudley looked over at Harry, who was chattering quite freely with Ron, and willed himself to feel more confident. After all, hadn't his Aunt Lily been a muggle-born witch? And he'd heard so many stories about her from Uncle James that she'd been the smartest witch of their year, more than lots of purebloods.

Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Dudley looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione Granger whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.

Dudley quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. _Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, __Dudley__ thought wildly,_ that seemed to be the sort of thing – noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

"_**Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**_

_**But don't judge on what you see,**_

_**I'll eat myself if you can find**_

_**A smarter hat than me.**_

_**You can keep your bowlers black,**_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall,**_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat**_

_**And I can cap them all.**_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head**_

_**The Sorting Hat can't see,**_

_**So try me on and I will tell you**_

_**Where you ought to be.**_

_**You might belong in Gryffindor,**_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart,**_

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry**_

_**Set Gryffindors apart;**_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff,**_

_**Where they are just and loyal,**_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true**_

_**And unafraid of toil;**_

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,**_

_**If you've a ready mind,**_

_**Where those of wit and learning,**_

_**Will always find their kind;**_

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin**_

_**You'll make your real friends,**_

_**Those cunning folk use any means**_

_**To achieve their ends.**_

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid!**_

_**And don't get in a flap!**_

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none)**_

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. "So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry, who secretly felt relieved. He had been afraid they were going to have to exhibit some magical prowess. Dudley too looked much more relaxed, but he still was a little nervous about trying on the hat in front of _everyone_.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause – "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. Dudley gave a thumbs up to Hannah, who smiled shyly back at him.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. The table on the far right burst into cheers as Millicent sat down satisfied at the Slytherin table. After a few more first years got sorted, Professor McGonagall called out, "Evans, Dudley!"

Dudley stood rooted to his spot on the floor, suddenly panicky about going up there in front of everyone. He hadn't expected to be called so soon. Justin poked him in the back and whispered, "Go! You were called!"

"I…I can't," squeaked Dudley, but Justin pushed him to the front. "Go!" he whispered again, this time a little louder. Dudley stumbled to the stool and quickly put the hat over his head. Before it slipped over his face, Dudley glimpsed his cousin giving him a thumbs up sign and smile.

_"Hmm…relative of Lily Evans, are you?" _the hat muttered. Dudley jumped. He hadn't expected the hat to talk to _him_.

"Yes," he said. "Now, can you _please_ quickly sort me and get it over with?"

_"Tut tut," _said the hat, _Impatience will get you nowhere. Well, let's see here. Yes, yes, you've got a practical mind, and much sense I see. Smart, but not intellectual, so Ravenclaw won't do you any good. Hmm, you have bravery, yes, and much courage, but there's much more to you than that, so Gryffindor won't do you much good either. Hmm…tough one aren't you? You've got a lot of ambition and want to prove yourself to others, so Slytherin would be a good choice, but you don't seem to be cunning, and you aren't the type to do anything to achieve your needs. You are very loyal, and sensitive I see. You are not very confident about yourself or your abilities, yet you will support those who you love until the end of the world. Hmm…better be… _HUFFLEPUFF!_" _

Dudley had been sitting on the edge of the stool with growing anxiety and impatience, but when the hat shouted out Hufflepuff, he leapt off the stool, yanked the hat off of his head, and nearly ran over to the Hufflepuff table with relief. He sat on the other side of Hannah Abbot, who gave him a huge grin.

"I'm glad got sorted into Hufflepuff, Dudley!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Dudley said, "I'm glad too, although I'd have been happy with any house…even Slytherin." It was true. Dudley looked over at the Slytherin table, and although most of the lot was mean looking, he knew there ought to be some good people in it. Aunt Lily had told him that she had had a best friend from Slytherin when she was at Hogwarts, although she never said who it was. Dudley turned back to the sorting, and after a few more people, Justin was called up, looking more nervous and shaken up than Dudley had, for all his convincing Dudley to go up.

Justin had only worn the hat for exactly 10 seconds (Dudley counted) when the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Dudley clapped hard. This was too good to be true. So far, all of his friends had been sorted into Hufflepuff. Was it too much to hope that Ernie would too?

After a few more people, Hermione Granger was called up. She ran over to the hat and eagerly jammed it on, as Dudley and lots of other people looked on interestedly. Which house would that braniac we sorted into? Ravenclaw, no doubt, but…

"GRYFFINDOR!" _Or not_, thought Dudley, with an amused smile. He had been sure that Hermione Granger would go into Ravenclaw, but maybe there was more to her. Who knew?

"I'm awfully hungry," Justin complained, his previous nevousness replaced by excitement and hunger.

"Just a couple of more minutes," said an older looking girl who sat across from them. "I'm Jane Phillips, by the way," she said, "one of your fifth year prefects."

"Hello," Dudley said, introducing himself, "I'm Dudley Evans."

"And I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley," Justin said, "and exactly what do you mean by a _couple of more minutes_?"

Jane laughed. "Oh, maybe a half hour more."

"That long?" Justin complained.

"The Sorting Ceremony's not everyday," Jane said, smiling. "It's special, expecially since it's for _your_ class."

"Longbottom, Neville!" came Professor McGonagall's voice.

"And we're only at the Ls," Justin muttered under his breath. Dudley elbowed him.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"I thought Neville was going to come to Hufflepuff," said Jane, looking surprised, but clapping cheerfully nonetheless.

"You know him?" asked Dudley.

"Umhmm, his grandmother and he live next door to us. He's a sweet boy, and awfully loyal too, but afraid to death of nearly everything, and nervous out of his wits when he meets strangers. We're really close though, because he's like a little brother to me. I'm an only child like him."

"Maybe there's more to him," suggested Dudley.

"Probably," said Jane, "You mark my words. That boy will outshine everyone one day. He ought to, with parents like his."

Dudley didn't say anything. Of course, he knew the story of the Longbottoms, and the terrible fate that had gone to them. Poor Neville. Hopefully, he would make good friends in Gryffindor and come out of his nutshell.

"My Aunt was best friends with Neville's mother," said Dudley.

"Who's your aunt?" asked Jane with interest.

"Mrs. Lily Potter," answered Dudley promptly.

"Your cousin is _Harry Potter_?" asked Jane incredulously, "Oh, will you get me an autograph?" Dudley rolled his eyes.

"Only when I want to get the living daylights punched out of me," he replied. "Seriously, he's very sensitive about that. You want to be his friend, don't mention anything about Voldemort."

Jane gasped in horror. "What?" asked Dudley frantically, "What happened?"

"You…you said his name!" Jane exclaimed.

"Whose name?" asked Dudley with confusion.

"_His _name," said Jane gulping, "you know…_the dark lord_!"

"Oh him?" asked Dudley carelessly, "I mean, oh, sorry. It's a habit back at home. None of us say you know who. Aunt Lily says that fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"You ought to be in Gryffindor," said Jane, looking at Dudley disbelievingly.

"Why? I don't think saying someone's name has anything to do with bravery or anything. I mean…it's a _name_. How can a name be scary?"

"You know, I don't know," said Jane reflectively, "I guess it's also a habit to be afraid of his name."

Just then, Ernie MacMillan came over to their table, and Dudley realized that he had missed lots of the sorting. Oops!

"Lucky huh, all of us in the same house!" Ernie said cheerfully.

"Yup," said Dudley, scooting over to make place for Ernie.

"Malfoy, Draco!" came Professor McGonagall's voice, sharp and crisp as ever.

"I bet you five galleons that he's going to be in Slytherin," said Ernie, as Malfoy pompously strode over to the sorting hat and jammed it on. Dudley smirked and shook his head.

"I wouldn't take that bet if my life depended on it," he said.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

"WHAT!" Dudley, Ernie, and Malfoy yelled out. The hall became so silent that a pin drop could have been heard.

"Mr. Malfoy, you heard the sorting hat. Please go over to your house," Professor McGonagall finally said. Malfoy was staring at her with an open mouth.

"There…there has to be a mistake professor," he finally muttered.

"I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy, but the Sorting Hat does not make mistakes. Now, there are still quite a few first years ready to be sorted. Please go forth to the Gryffindor Table," Professor McGonagall finally said.

**A.N. (**Evil Grin**) So how do you like it? I hope you don't mind this twist in the plot. After reading HP and the Deathly Hallows, I felt Draco Malfoy really didn't belong in Slytherin. I know, I know, I was supposed to stick with the series, but I couldn't help it. Everything's going to be more interesting this way anyway, so please don't hate my story! Looking forward to reading the reviews…(wink wink)**


	7. Helga's Humble Abode

**A.N. (I'm sorry guys for the long wait, but I was really busy! Well, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter…**_**obviously**_

Chapter Seven: Helga's Humble Abode

Harry could not believe his eyes (and ears). Draco Scorpius Malfoy, _Draco Malfoy_, was in Gryffindor! His mouth was still wide open five minutes later when Ron poked him in the ribs.

"Mate," he whispered, "You were called up a few seconds ago." Indeed, Professor McGonagall's sharp voice, now slightly irritated, was calling out, "_Potter, Harry!"_

_"_Did she say Harry Potter?"

"_The_ Harry Potter?"

"Move over! I can't see!" whispers broke out in a rush as soon as Professor McGonagall had called out Harry's name. People craned their necks to look at him, and the shorter ones stood up on their seats to get a better look.

"Oh," said Harry startled, as he shakily walked up to the sorting hat. Was Draco Malfoy being in Gryffindor some kind of omen that he would be in Slytherin? Hopefully not…

"_Well, Mr. Potter," the sorting hat whispered in a silky voice. "I've been waiting to sort you."_

"_You were?" asked Harry with surprise, "Why?"_

"_Well, it might have been because you vanquished the Dark Lord, but let me recheck my memory," said the hat sarcastically. Then, without waiting for a response, it started muttering to itself. "Where to place you…"_

"_Not Slytherin," said Harry immediately._

"_Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness!"_

"_No!" Harry muttered furiously. "I don't belong in Slytherin! I belong in Gryffindor, like my mum and dad!"_

"_Don't belong? Are you sure about that? Yes, yes, I see it all in here, and you have immense ambition, and a thirst to prove yourself. Hmm…no?"_

"_Put me in Slytherin, and I'll make sure you'll never be able to sort again!" threatened Harry, desperate._

"_Threats do no frighten me," sniffed the offended hat, as if he got them frequently. "I shall place you in a house which I deem fits your personality best, and it shall be…_GRYFFINDOR!"

The last word was shouted out to the hall, and Harry hardly had time to sigh in relief before he took off the hat and walked as calmly as he could to the Gryffindor table. He hardly knew that he was receiving the loudest applause, because he had just realized that the only available space was either next to Draco Malfoy or a boy who was picking his nose.

"Harry!" Fred and George Weasley, Ron's twin brothers, shouted in glee as each took an arm of Harry's and dragged him towards Malfoy. "Congrats on making Gryffindor, mate! We _knew_ you were alright though you associated with Ron!" They snickered at their own joke.

"Let me go!" Harry complained, as the Weasley twins forced him to sit next to Malfoy, who was looking very sour.

"Nope, a certain person here looks like he's in need of a buddy, and we thought you were just the person," said Fred in a sing song primary school teacher's voice. George smirked at Malfoy's expression.

"I don't associate with the likes of half-bloods and blood-traitors!" Malfoy exclaimed, looking extremely indignant, "Just you watch, when my father shows the headmaster just what he thinks of that sorting hat, I will be in Slytherin before no time!"

"Sure, sure," said George, waving away Malfoy's remark with a wave of his hand and walking down the table to sit with the third years. He and Fred were still snickering over the fact the Malfoy was sorted in Gryffindor.

Harry didn't look at Malfoy, instead preferring to gaze at the rest of the sorting with more interest than necessary. After a few minutes, a boy named Dean Thomas joined the Gryffindor Table and sat across from Harry.

"Hello!" Dean greeted cheerfully, "Brilliant place this is, isn't it?"

"Yes," replied Harry, "I'm Harry Potter by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Dean Thomas, and I hail from a small village in Wales. It was ever such a surprise when I received my letter!" Dean said, shaking Harry's hand.

"_A muggle-born_," thought Harry amiably while at the same time, Malfoy thought, "_A Mud-blood; Gryffindor Tower must be infested with them, and I must spend the night there!_" He shuddered at the very thought, but as no one was paying the least bit of attention to him, he did not receive much stares except from a just sorted first year Ravenclaw girl who looked dreamily at him and batted her eyes. Draco knew from the sorting that her name was Lisa Turpin, and that she was a half-blood. He recoiled and looked away. _What in the world…_ Instead, Draco looked longingly towards the Slytherin Table, particularly at Crabbe and Goyle, who were looking sympathetically and with confusion towards him. _How did those thick-headed idiots go to Slytherin and not me?_ Draco thought with an angry frown. He tried to drone out Potter and that mud-blood boy's speech, and stared angrily instead at the small number of students still waiting to be sorted.

"Weasley, Ronald!" came Professor McGonagall's loud voice, not tainted even a bit with fatigue. Ron, his legs quivering, walked up to the Sorting Hat and jammed it on with eagerness and nervousness. The Hat barely waited a minute before calling out in loud bold tones, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry's cheers were the loudest of all as he clapped hard and congratulated Ron, who sat next to him. "Well, now that that's over, I wish the food can come fast," Ron complained, rubbing his hungry stomach.

In another ten minutes, the sorting was over and Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll, taking the sorting hat and the stool away. Then Albus Dumbledore stood up, his vibrant crystal blue eyes behind his half moon spectacles sparkling brightly, as if nothing pleased him more than to see them all there, ruffled in spirits but in one shape no less.

"Welcome!" he said, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Then he sat back down. Everyone clapped and cheered and Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Is he - a bit mad?" Dean Thomas asked Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, anyone?"

Harry, Ron, and Dean's mouths fell open. Malfoy feigned non-interest, but he did perk up a little, _very little_.

The dishes in front of them were now piled with food: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, chips, Yorkshire Puddings, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs.

Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the humbugs and began to eat. It was delicious. He had previously thought that no one could rival his mother's cooking, and he was still with the same belief, but the Hogwarts cooking came _very close_.

Ron, abandoning any notion of etiquette, piled his plate with food higher than Uncle Padfoot did, and Harry had never thought that possible, but clearly he had been proven wrong. He and Dean Thomas laughed. Six seats down, Harry saw Neville Longbottom quietly eating a potato, looking lonely and friendless. Harry immediately felt sympathy to him and said, "Neville, why don't you sit with us? We could use some company!"

Neville looked up and perked a little, but when he saw that the only available seat closest to Harry, Ron, and Dean was next to Malfoy, he said, "That's alright."

"Oh come on, no one's going to bite you," Harry said, looking pointedly at Malfoy as he said this. Malfoy gave him a glare, and looked at Neville as if to say, "Don't you dare…"

But Neville had got up quite happily and sat across from Harry and Ron, and as far away from Malfoy as possible.

"Thanks," he said, before delving into his food with more enthusiasm.

"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Neville cut up his steak.

"Can't you -?"

"I haven't eaten in nearly four hundred years,' said the ghost, "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" Ron said suddenly, "My brothers told me about you - you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would _prefer _you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy," the ghost began stiffly, but another first year boy named Seamus Finnigan interrupted. "_Nearly _Headless? How can you be _nearly _headless?"

Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted it to.

"Like _this," _he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled.His whole head swung off his neck and fell on his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back on to his neck, coughed and said, "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."

They looked over at the Slytherin table, which was all the way at the end of the hall, and glimpsed a horrible looking ghost with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was sitting right next to a girl they remembered from the sorting as Pansy Parkinson, whose sour looking face looked even sourer with the sitting arrangements. She suddenly caught their gaze and they quickly looked down, but not before seeing her glare. Pansy Parkinson looked over at Draco, who looked guiltily at her, as if saying, "I don't _want_ to be here!"

Draco felt the misfortune of his being in Gryffindor greater than ever now. The Parkinsons, pureblood to the core as much as the Malfoy family, were their closest friends. Surely they would cut off all family ties now, due to the disgrace Draco brought to the family? Also, Pansy had always had a crush on Draco, ever since she was eight years old, and had professed him her future husband. Draco himself preferred her pretty cousin, 10 year old brown haired brown eyed Astoria Greengrass, to the pale blonde Pansy, but he never said so. Pansy had been his best and closest friend since four years old, and he never did anything that hurt her feelings. Crabbe and Goyle were only _outside_ friends. They really didn't care about him at all, as long as he still had the power over the rest of the kids, but Pansy was his _inside_ friend, and Draco felt pretty bad about abandoning her, him being in Gryffindor and all. Sighing, he continued eating. At least food didn't belong to particular houses…

"How did he get covered in blood?" Neville Longbottom was asking Nearly Headless Nick.

"Never asked," the Gryffindor ghost replied, "He'd kill me if I ever mentioned such a thing!"

"But you're already dead!" said Ron, before Harry could step on his foot and stop him. Nearly Headless Nick looked offended and left his place to sit next to the first year girls, hoping for better conversation there.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed, looking at his friend exasperatedly. Ron shrugged.

"But it's true!" Ron defended himself. Harry, Dean, and Neville shook their heads.

"You suppose we should include that Malfoy kid in our conversation?" whispered Dean, his eyes darting to the proud, but lonely looking Malfoy.

"Are you kidding?" asked Ron, staring incredulously at Dean. "He's a Malfoy!"

"But what does that mean?" asked Dean with confusion, "Why should that matter?"

"Because…he's a Malfoy," repeated Harry lamely, "Fine, that sounded stupid, but this Malfoy family is bad business Dean; better not to associate with him."

"If you say so…" said Dean uncertainly, feeling a prick of sympathy for the pale faced boy.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later, the puddings appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding ... 

As Dudley helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to studies.

"I've asked around, and Potions sounds by far the most interesting," declared Justin.

"Oh, it's interesting enough," snorted Jane Phillips, who had become their fast friend although she was a fifth year, "if it's taught by a nice teacher!"

"Who's the teacher, and what's wrong with him/her?" asked Ernie curiously.

"Professor Severus Snape," replied Jane promptly, "and you can tell that he knows his subject well, but he's nasty to everyone except Slytherins, and the more points he can take off from other houses, the happier he is."

"But why?" asked Dudley, looking up at the staff table.

"Who knows?" Jane shrugged, "People say though that he's been after the DADA job for ages, but Dumbledore never gives him the position. You know, rumor has it that Professor Snape used to be a Death Eater, but I don't reckon it's true, or else Dumbledore wouldn't have hired him. He's the guy with the sallow eyes, pointed nose, and greasy hair by the way."

Dudley quickly spotted Professor Snape, as he was the only one who didn't seem to enjoy the feast, and looked around him with glaring eyes. Currently, he was staring at someone with intense dislike on his face, and Dudley quickly found out that it was at Harry. Surprised, he then saw Harry quickly clap a hand on his forehead, wincing in pain. Worried, Dudley said, "Are we allowed to go to other tables to talk to people?"

"Yes, of course, as long as it's not to make arguments," replied Jane, "Hogwarts encourages inter-house friendship."

Dudley quickly got up from his seat and walked over to the Gryffindor table, ignoring some of the stares he was getting.

"Hey Duds, congrats on making Hufflepuff! Mum and Dad will be proud!" Harry greeted as Dudley neared the table. "This is my cousin Dudley," Harry told Dean, who hadn't met Dudley on the train.

"Nice to meet you," Dudley said, shaking Dean's hand amiably, then turning to Harry, he said, "and thanks! Congratulations on making Gryffindor!"

"Thanks; what brings you here by the way? Missed me that much?" Harry joked.

"Not a chance," Dudley said grinning, but then sobering up, he said, "I just noticed you clutching your forehead. Anything wrong?"

Harry colored slightly. Had he really made it that obvious? "Nothing," he replied, "My scar just twinged, that's all. It's probably nothing."

"Your scar hurt? How?" asked Dudley, worried.

"I don't know," Harry shrugged, "One minute, I was staring at Snape, and the next, my scar hurt; probably a coincidence."

"You noticed Professor Snape? What do you think of him?" asked Dudley with a grin, dismissing his worry. If Harry hadn't thought much about his scar hurting, what need was there to worry?

"Professor Snivellus?" asked Harry, grinning mischievously, "Oh, I think he is a right dear fellow indeed!"

Dudley shook his head with a smile. "Don't tell me you're going to cause trouble in his class."

"Why Dudley, whatever gave you that idea?" asked Harry, looking at Dudley with an angelic smile. Sighing but grinning, Dudley returned to the Hufflepuff table.

**A.N. (I feel this chapter, and story is moving way too slow, so I'm going to speed up the rest of the feast part if you don't mind.)**

At last, puddings too disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The Hall fell silent. "Ahem - just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you.First years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students ought to remember that too."Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch -the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should contact Madam Hooch.And finally, I must tell you that this year, the 3rd floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did."He's not serious is he?" he muttered to Percy Weasley, the fifth year Gryffindor prefect.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd because he usually gives a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us Prefects, at least."

" And now before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he were trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself snake-like into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune and off we go!" said Dumbledore.And so the school bellowed.

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot._

Everyone finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped the loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes, "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you go."The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase.

**A.N. (Since we all know how Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors go to Gryffindor Tower, and since we know how the Gryffindor Common Room looks, I won't write about that part, but instead about Dudley and his "journey" to the Hufflepuff Common Room; Hope you don't mind!)**

Dudley, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie MacMillan, and two other first year boys named Malcolm Preece and Zacharias Smith followed Stephan Gardner, the other fifth year prefect, to the Hufflepuff Common Room while Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Madeline Summers, Sitara Ramnad, and Kalicia Stebbins followed Jane Phillips.

The Hufflepuff Common Room wasn't far. One just had to turn left of the wide sweeping staircase after exiting the doors of the Great Hall. To the left of the staircase, there was a door partially hidden by a suit of armor. After opening the door, they saw a long hallway, very bright and cheerful looking with tons of paintings of food on the walls…and the largest painting all the way at the end of the hallway. Jane and Stephen led the first years to that painting, which was the only one not of food, but of a beautiful fairy tale forest, with all kinds of sweet little animals, flowers, and foliage.

**A.N. (I don't know how the Hufflepuff painting is supposed to look, so sorry if I made it stupid or something!)**

"Helga's humble abode," said Jane, and the painting immediately turned into a door. "That's the password. Make sure you don't forget it. Passwords change every two weeks, so make sure you remember to ask one of us every two weeks for the password." She turned the handle and walked in, with the admiring first years trailing behind.

The Hufflepuff Common Room was very cozy, with long yellow hangings and fat black armchairs scattered around. There were four long tables on each side of the rectangular room, with ten yellow and black cushioned seats next to each of them. Paintings of forests, jungles, fruits, and vegetables were placed everywhere, giving the room a very earthy comfy feeling

"Welcome to the Hufflepuff Cellar," said Steve (short for Stephen which he hated to be called), staring fondly around at the room, "That's the name we call this place. Our House corresponds to the element of Earth, so that's why the dormitories are underground. We hope you settle in and adjust to your new surroundings soon."

"As Steve said, the dormitories are underground," said Jane, pointing at a round trapdoor on the floor at the far end of the common room. "First, we must all go through that trapdoor. A few steps lead us to the underground, with two pathways. The right pathway takes you to the girls' dormitories, and the left pathway leads you to the boys' dormitories. And there are spells and enchantments which keep the other gender from going to the opposite gender's dormitories. Goodnight."

The first years followed Jane and Steve down the round trapdoor to the underground. The girls went right and the boys went left, until they reached the first round door, which was labeled First Years. Eagerly, the boys opened their door and went inside their cozy dormitory, which was just the right size to be both snug and airy. Their belongings were already there, at the foot of their beds. Too tired to say anything more than a goodnight, they changed into their pajamas and fell into a deep sleep, anticipating the start of their lessons the next day.

_lllllllllllllll_

Draco Malfoy was awake long after the other boys (Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus) fell asleep, staring up at the red and gold hangings with misery. Yes, the Gryffindor Common Room and Dormitories were luxurious to be sure, but Draco had much rather be in the Slytherin Common Room instead. He had heard so much about it from his father, who had been without doubt that Draco would be in Slytherin.

As soon as the other boys had fallen asleep, Draco had written his father a letter with dread, telling him of his sorting. Surely his father would _make_ Dumbledore switch him to Slytherin? He just had to! He didn't belong in Gryffindor. Heck, even the Gryffindors knew _that_! Sighing, Draco turned over. Even with six boys in it, the First Year Dormitory was very spacious, luxurious, and warm, but Draco didn't want any of it. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but he felt very lonely. He had no friends here, and no one in which to confide his feelings. If he had been in Slytherin, he would have had not only Crabbe and Goyle, but also Pansy….Oh, how Pansy must be feelings right now! Did she hate Draco for being in Gryffindor? Draco had written her a letter as well, hoping against hope that she would respond.

Draco's last thought before falling asleep was just _how_ he would survive seven years at Hogwarts if, _just if_, his father didn't succeed in convincing Dumbledore.

**A.N. (I'm really really really sorry for inflicting such a long boring chapter on you, but I promise that from the next chapter on, it's going to be interesting, because I got all the boring details out of the way. Please Review…at your comfort. And thanks for the kind reviews for the previous chapter! Each and every one made my day! And I'll change the poll for next chapter. If anyone has not voted already, please do take the chance to do so now. Thanks!) **


	8. The Wrath of Lucius Malfoy

**A.N. (Thanks a lot everyone for the reviews! Some of you gave advice, and I'll definitely try my best to follow. Sorry for the extremely long wait, by the way. Many things kept me apart from the story, so I can't tell you exactly how often I'll get to update, but I promise I won't leave this story. One more thing, I'll no longer copy direct quotations from the books, as someone told me it was annoying, and also, the chapters are going to be a little different from the canon from now on. Hope you like this chapter…)**

**Poll #3 Results: First five winners of ****Which two male characters in Harry Potter do you like the best?**

**Harry James Potter(6 votes), Sirius Orion Black(4 votes), James Harry Potter(3 votes), Neville Longbottom, Albus Severus Potter, George Weasley (all tied with 2 votes) Yes, I know it's six people, but three of them tied, so I couldn't exactly leave one of them out. Thanks for voting!)**

**Poll#4 (****What is your favorite Harry Potter pairing? ****Please remember to vote!!!)**

Chapter Eight: The Wrath of Lucius Malfoy

Early morning sunshine filled Gryffindor Tower with light, which illuminated the scarlet papered walls and made the gold draperies glow. In the first year boys' dormitory, three of the boys, awake, were contemplating whether or not to awake the other two boys, whose snores filled the room as if ten people were sleeping in it.

"You reckon we should pour water on him?" Dean Thomas asked Harry nervously, pointing at the snoring Ron.

"Dunno," replied Harry yawning, "Experience has taught me that there are those who do not take to water that nicely."

"We'll miss breakfast," piped up Neville, looking longingly towards the door.

"Go on ahead of us Neville, we'll come after we wake up Ron," said Harry.

"But I don't know the way," said Neville, looking imploringly at them, "If one of you can only come with me."

"Neither do I," said Seamus Finnigan, "But I'm quite famished as well, so we might as well ask a prefect for directions to the Great Hall."

Neville happily followed Seamus out of the dormitory and down the flight of stairs into the common room.

"How bout' him?" asked Dean, pointing towards Draco.

"What about him?" asked Harry.

"Shouldn't we—"

"Nah," said Harry, "It'd be quite funny to see him walk into class late."

"Yea, but we sleep in the same dormitory as him. He could murder us in our sleep if we don't wake him," suggested Dean.

"True," said Harry, nodding his head, then, "Oi Malfoy! The sun is up and the birds are singing! Time to rise!"

With a yelp of surprise and fright, Malfoy fell on the floor, bed sheets rolled around him. He untangled himself with as much decorum as he could muster and gave a big glare to Harry and Dean, who were sporting innocent grins and trying not to burst into laughter.

"I was already awake," he said with dignity, stomping into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

Harry, who was hungry, didn't feel like waiting forever to wake up Ron and pulled the bed sheet from under him. Ron gave a yell and falling to the floor like Malfoy, protested, "What was that for?"

"If you haven't noticed, today _is_ the first day of classes, and we only have 45 minutes before breakfast ends and our classes begin," said Harry sarcastically, "and Malfoy's in the bathroom by the way. You'll have to wait."

Ron grumbled as he got his things ready.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Ooh, is that him?"

"Where?"

"Over there"

"I can't see, move over!"

"He's right there, next to the tall kid with red hair!"

Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. Whispers had followed him the minute he had stepped out of Gryffindor Tower, and everyone, _literally everyone_, stared at him, some even tip-toeing to get a better look. It wasn't like he was some animal in the zoo or something! Gritting his teeth and trying not to get annoyed, Harry walked to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Thanks to his father, Sirius, and Remus, Harry very easily found his way to the Great Hall, remembered which stairs not to step on, and which doors were not really doors. There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts, at least according to his mother. Harry hadn't bothered to open _Hogwarts, a History_ before coming to school.

A month before school started, James and Sirius had grilled Harry and Dudley about every aspect of Hogwarts castle, including the secret passageways and the staircases: the wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump, etc. It was all very confusing to take in, especially doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending.

The Hogwarts ghosts, not limited to Nearly Headless Nick, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar, and the Bloody Baron, didn't help much either. Of course, nobody actually asked the Bloody Baron for help, but rather him than Peeves the Poltergeist, who was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

"Thank god your parents told you bout' Hogwarts, or I'd never have found the way here in time!" exclaimed Dean, falling into his seat out of breath. Although good exercise, Gryffindor Tower having so many staircases between it and the Great Hall wasn't very convenient.

"All my parents told me was to 'study hard', at least, my mum did. My dad just told me to ask a muggle the function of a rubber duck," said Ron, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes, "Hey Dean, you're a muggle; so how does a rubber duck work?" Dean gave him a _very_ strange look, but before he could reply, the mail came.

A horde of owls, all in different shapes, colors, and sizes, came flying in. Some of those who were muggle-born and not familiar to this kind of communication shrieked in surprise. Others exclaimed in awe. Harry saw Hedwig fly over to him, but not surprisingly, she had no letter with her. After all, Harry had only sent his parents a letter last night.

"Hey girl," he said, patting her. Hedwig gave him an affectionate nip before taking a few gulps of pumpkin juice from his goblet and flying back to the snug warm owlery.

"What do we have first today?" asked Ron, taking a large bite from a muffin.

"Transfiguration," replied Harry, glancing at the schedule Percy had just handed him, "then Herbology and History of Magic before Lunch. A two hour break after lunch, and then Defense Against the Dark Arts before the school day ends."

"That's not so bad," remarked Dean, "What do we have tomorrow?"

"Not much," said Harry, looking at the Tuesday column, "Only two classes: Potions and Charms, but they're both double hours."

"Ah well," said Ron, "Guess we'd better go, or we'll be late for Transfiguration. Fred and George told me Professor McGonagall hates late-comers."

"Not to worry!" said Harry cheerfully, "I know a secret passage that will take us directly to the classroom next to the Transfiguration classroom in five minutes! My dad, Uncle Padfoot, and Uncle Moony always used it back when they were at school."

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

15 minutes later, Harry, Ron, and Dean stumbled into the Transfiguration classroom, 5 minutes late and very out of breath. But fortunately for them, Professor McGonagall didn't seem to be there. Strangely, a cat was sitting on her desk, surveying them. For a second, they thought it was Mrs. Norris, the caretaker, Mr. Filch's, annoying cat, but then noticed that she was a much handsomer cat and quite a different color.

"Good thing she's not here yet," wheezed Ron, dropping into a seat in the back row, "Can you imagine the look on her face if she had seen us walking in late? And you promised that the secret passageway would bring us here in time!"

"I probably got it mixed up with the one behind Wendell the Weird's portrait!" Harry defended himself, coloring slightly. "Give me a break, we haven't even been here a day yet!"

Neither Harry nor Ron noticed the warning glances Hermione Granger, who was sitting in the front row, was giving them, but you can say they were quite aghast when the 'cat' suddenly transformed into their strict faced transfiguration professor, now bearing an even stricter expression, so that the lines around her face looked quite menacing. Ron especially gulped, praying fervently that the professor hadn't heard his first remark.

"Explain yourselves," Professor McGonagall snapped.

"We…we were lost," Harry stuttered, trying to ignore the smirks of Draco Malfoy.

"Perhaps you could have used a map," Professor McGonagall crisply replied. "And what is this I hear about a secret passageway, Mr. Potter? I was under the impression that no one save Mr. Filch and the Headmaster knew of any secret passageways in this school."

Harry gaped at her. How was he to explain himself out of this one? But an odd smile, a _very_ brief smile, crossed the professor's face, and disappeared as fast as it had come, so that Harry and Ron had to wonder if there was a smile at all.

"Do not make this mistake again," she said, "I will let you off now, since it _is_ the first day, but any late-comers from now on will have 2 points deducted from their house, and it will double each day they're late."

Walking back to the front of the room, she said, "And Mr. Weasley, next time, _do_ watch who's in the room before commenting on that person."

Ron gaped and colored bright red, his face contrasting quite horrible with his bright red hair. Harry and Dean snickered while Hermione Granger looked disapprovingly at them.

"Transfiguration is one of the most difficult and risky magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back, as I have no patience for time-wasters. You have been warned."

Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas gulped, while the other felt a little unnerved. Only Hermione Granger looked excited, quite intent on proving herself capable of lasting in Professor McGonagall's class, and sat up straight, with a slightly haughty expression on her face. Harry didn't look at her, as she reminded him of a girl in his primary school named Susie Michaels, who was abnormally smart and very annoying to listen to, not to mention a little proud.

Transfiguration wasn't so bad, but it was true that it was _ver_y tricky, and needed their utmost concentration. They started off with turning matches into needles, and the pointier the needle was, the better their grade was.

Professor McGonagall turned her desk into a pig and back again, but at their excited faces, told them that kind of high level magic was taught in third year, and if they worked hard enough, would be able to do more exciting things by their seventh year.

Professor McGonagall was, Harry soon found out, nicer than her countenance showed. Out of their class, only Hermione Granger had made her needle the pointiest, and second, Draco Malfoy, whose needle was only a little less pointy than Hermione's. He looked quite sour that a _girl_ had done better than him, and that too a muggle born. Nevertheless, Professor McGonagall awarded each of them five points, and they were the only two exempt from homework.

"The rest of you shall have to write a foot long essay about the history of this spell, and master it for the next class, which will be day after tomorrow. Good luck!"

Ron grumbled about the homework the entire way to Herbology, which was taught by a squat cheerful looking witch called Pomona Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff House.

The Gryffindors had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, therefore giving Harry and his friends a chance to greet Dudley and his friends.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Albus Dumbledore paced the length of his office, with his hands behind his back, and deep in thinking. A letter, with the unmistakable scrawling of Lucius Malfoy, sat on his desk. Dumbledore walked back to it and sat on his chair with a thoughtful expression on his face. Pushing his slipping glasses up his nose, he peered at the letter once again, as if trying to understand a deeper meaning from it.

_Albus Dumbledore,_

_I do not know what you mean by insulting my family in such a way as you did yesterday. My son, the heir of Malfoy Manor, placed in Gryffindor? Your sorting hat must be out of it's mind! I will be seeing you this evening after dinner. Mark my words, I shall not leave until my son has been placed in the right house._

_Lucius Malfoy_

Albus Dumbledore was not an ignorant man. He knew the threat behind Malfoy Snr's words. _My son better be transferred to Slytherin, or else. _Plucking a lemon drop from the small glass bowl on his desk, he chewed thoughtfully, as if deciding what to do. Yes, thought Dumbledore, he had been surprised indeed when the young Malfoy child had been placed in Gryffindor, not because he was not brave or spirited, but because he surely must have picked up the old Malfoy prejudices against Gryffindor and muggle-borns. But…the sorting hat never made any mistakes, and surely in young Draco's case, it must have done the right thing. Therefore, there was no need to worry or take any drastic actions. Mr. Malfoy would just have to learn to adjust to his son's placing.

When Lucius Malfoy burst through Dumbledore's office, banging the door open with no consideration to the sleeping portraits surrounding the office, Dumbledore only looked up with a slight smile on his face, not at all surprised with the rude entrance of the Senior Malfoy.

"Welcome Mr. Malfoy," he greeted from his couch-like chair, "Do take a seat."

"Explain yourself," Lucius growled, dropping onto the offered seat angrily.

"I don't know what you mean," said Dumbledore peacefully, "What's troubling you, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Don't play dumb with me Dumbledore!" Lucius sneered, "Did you think I'd find it funny when you placed my son in…filthy Gryffindor!"

"The sorting hat does the sorting, Mr. Malfoy, not I, so maybe you could place your inquiries to it?" asked Dumbledore.

"You very well know the sorting hat won't change its decision!" Malfoy hollered, jumping out of his chair.

"Then it seems as if the situation is out of my hands," replied Dumbledore calmly.

"You can simply place my son into the rightful house," Malfoy said, collecting his calm.

"Rightful house? The sorting hat chose his rightful house when it sorted your son, Mr. Malfoy. Exactly what do you mean by rightful house?" Dumbledore inquired, peering at Lucius's eyes.

"You very well know I am referring to the noble house of Salazar Slytherin, Dumbledore," Malfoy sneered, making up his mind that Albus Dumbledore really _was_ dense.

"Ah," said Dumbledore, "But young Draco's rightful house is Gryffindor, Mr. Malfoy, as the sorting hat placed him into it. The Sorting Hat never makes mistakes, as you well know."

"Rubbish!" was all Lucius said.

"I apologize," said Dumbledore, standing up, "But the matter is out of my hands. Once placed, a student will not be transferred."

"So you refuse to move my son?" asked Malfoy in a still voice, glaring at Dumbledore.

"If you put it that way, then, yes," Dumbledore calmly replied. Lucius Malfoy looked at Dumbledore with a stony silence for a full minute before opening the door with all the dignity he could muster. "This is not the end of the matter," he said quietly before leaving with a sweep of his robes.

Dumbledore stared at the open door before closing it quite calmly. No doubt, Lucius Malfoy would write to the Minister of Magic for support in the matter, but fortunately, the Decree for Education of Magical Children stated that in issues regarding the sorting of future Hogwarts students, the ministry must not get involved.

"I've often thought students get sorted too quickly," Dumbledore muttered to himself, "But maybe not in all cases. What do you think, Dippet?" Dumbledore looked at the portrait of the sleepy Armando Dippet, previous headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Couldn't agree with you more, Albus," Dippet murmured, dropping into a deep sleep.

**A.N. (Sorry for not writing too long, but I've been terribly busy with college work, and I just couldn't find time to spare for this story! But I promise I'll update as soon as I get a chance. Hope you all enjoyed this, and remember to cast your vote for the poll in my profile!)**

_A peek into the next chapter…_

"_I've found her—we've found her!" James exclaimed, swinging Lily around in happy circles while she laughed._

"_You must come back with us Tuney," Lily whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek, "We promise, we'll get Duncan and Delilah back."_

"_I can't—oh, I can't!" Petunia broke down crying._

"_Albus, I found you the perfect candidate for Muggle Studies professor," Lily stated._


	9. Homecoming

**Another Disclaimer: Nope, in case you're wondering, I still don't own Harry Potter, and never will! ******

Chapter Nine: Homecoming

Lily sighed and put the book she was reading down on the small mahogany table in the cozy confines of the Library at Potter Manor. She normally loved reading and re-reading _Tales of Beadle the Bard_, ever since James had introduced her to it in Seventh Year, but today, she just couldn't get into it. Her mind drifted more than once to the pitiable state of her sister, and where she could possibly be. The Auror Office had been busy day and night trying to track down the whereabouts of Petunia Dursley, but to no avail. Where could Petunia possible be, that magic could not trace her? Then a thought entered Lily's mind not for the first time. _What if Petunia had killed herself?_

The house was uncommonly quiet, as the children were all at school. But suddenly, Lily heard the flames erupting in the fireplace and jumped up, her wand at ready. But it was only James, his hair more messed up than usual, and a tired expression on his face. But his eyes had an excited look on his face, and as soon as his feet touched the Library carpet, he bounded across the room in three long strides and swept Lily up in a big hug.

"I've found her—we've found her!" James exclaimed, swinging Lily around in happy circles while she laughed.

"Wh—what?" Lily finally managed to say, "James, what are you talking about?" She dared not hope what was running through her mind, lest she should be disappointed.

"Petunia—you're sister; Lills, we traced her!" James exclaimed again, laughing. "It was Shacklebolt who did it. We couldn't have done it without him!"

But Lily hadn't heard anything past, "we traced her" and joy was running through her veins, sending a warm feeling into her body as butter beer often did on a cold day.

"How?" she finally managed to whisper.

"These past two months, we were only searching Britain, but never had we thought to run a scan through another country! Shacklebolt, you know Kingsley Shacklebolt, two years our junior? He recently switched to the Auror Office from the International Magical Relations department. Anyway, when our search was proving futile, Sirius recommended Shacklebolt, who was becoming quite efficient in his job though he was only amongst us for the past year. Shacklebolt suggested we search in other countries, as Petunia could have easily gone there as well. Sirius and I were ready to bash our heads against the wall. How could we have forgotten to do something so crucial?" Here, James took a breath.

"Well?" Lily prompted, excitement written all over her face.

"Well, we did a scan on all the countries, but nothing came up, until we reached the United States. Lillikins," said James, using Lily's hated nickname, "You sister is currently residing in New York."

"New York," whispered Lily, "Tuney always wanted to go to New York; her childhood friend Dana Thomas moved there after getting married."

"Kingsley Shacklebolt's definitely getting a promotion; he's really a very efficient worker. I'm certainly going to consider him as a replacement for my position if I ever become Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement," said James, calming down now that he had said everything he needed to.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Lily, weak from all the worry and anxiety she had gone through the past two months, but also glowing from peace of mind.

"We can apparate right now and bring her back from the confines of New York," said James lightly.

"Yes, but can we apparate to another country?" asked Lily, furrowing her brow. Now that she knew Petunia's location, she did not want to waste a minute in bringing her back.

"Course we can, if either of us can concentrate on the exact spot of our destination, but one problem. I've never been to New York, so I don't know any exact spots," James said.

"I went to New York once with my family during the summer in 3rd year. I remember Central Park very well," replied Lily.

"Is it a very crowded place? It wouldn't be good if someone spotted us apparating," stated James.

"Er…yes," said Lily, nodding her head, "It's a very popular spot for people to hang out."

"No problem," said James, "We'll just take the invisibility cloak."

Five minutes later, after James had retrieved his invisibility cloak from the office and draped it around his and Lily's forms, Lily held his hand as she focused clearly on Central Park as she remembered it. In a few seconds, she felt the familiar tugging feeling of apparition, and sensed her feet leaving the ground. In another few seconds, both she and James disappeared from the Library at Potter Manor in England.

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Lily and James came down hard on the cement ground, their bodies becoming sore but otherwise fine. Standing up gingerly and making sure no one else was around, James slipped the cloak off of themselves and tucked it into his pocket.

"I guess apparating to another country is a tad harder than apparating locally," he said, helping Lily to her feet.

"You don't say?" Lily asked sarcastically. Then, casting the direction spell (_precul indicium!_) secretly, lest the muggles should see, she said, "She's really far away. My wand's not responding that well to the spell. I think it might be too far to walk."

"Well then, we'll just have to use this," James said, pulling out a tiny beetle sized broomstick from his pocket. After making sure no one was watching, he reverted it back to its original size and said, "You point the way, and I'll guide this."

"I hate broomsticks," Lily muttered, but getting on nonetheless behind James. After casting an invisibility charm on the broomstick, off they went, Lily holding on tight to James and clenching her teeth in fright. They travelled far and smoothly through the hot afternoon air, taking right turns and left terns as per Lily's wand. Finally, Lily said, "Slow down, I think we might be nearing the area."

James slowed the speed of the broomstick as they entered an old apartment complex with paint peeling off the buildings, and the distinct smell of garbage in the air. Wrinkling her nose slightly, Lily said, "That one," pointing towards the dingiest apartment building of all. Indeed, Lily's wand had started glowing and vibrating furiously, indicating that they had reached their destination. Getting off the broom with relief, Lily said, "I wonder how we should approach her and convince her to come back."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," James said kindly. Lily smiled at him and put her wand back into her robes. "Oh no, I just thought of something," she said, slapping a head to her forehead.

"What?" James asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"

"We're in robes," she said.

"So?" James asked. "Oh…we're going into an apartment full of muggles, aren't we? Ah well, too late to change."

"I suppose," Lily said, not wasting another second and marching into the apartment building, with James right behind her. In the bare stained lobby, where there was one small desk for the receptionist/secretary and three chairs in the far corner of the room, a young woman no older than 18 sat behind the desk, talking loudly into her cell phone and glancing at her manicured nails every five seconds. She had on a tiny pink tank top, a _very_ short blue skirt, tons of make-up, and blood red lipstick on.

"Yea? Uh-huh? You don't say! I can't believe the nerve of that b----!"

"Excuse me," said Lily politely, approaching the desk. The girl glanced at her disdainfully before holding up a finger to tell her to wait. Lily sighed impatiently and started tapping her foot.

"I am _so_ going to tell her off one day! Yea, I know, and now I have to work in this totally broken-down smelly apartment from morning to night, just to pay for my dorm! Isn't that like, _so_ unfair? .God! Ashley, I have to go _right now_! This totally hot guy just walked in! Bye!"

Lily turned around to see who the "hot guy" was, but no one other than her own husband was in the lobby, and she realized that this girl was talking about James! Her eyebrows narrowed and she turned back to the girl grimly.

"I need you to ring up Petunia Dursley," she said curtly. The girl, whose name was Tanya as Lily read the paper nameplate, looked at Lily sourly and asked, "Who're you?"

"Her sister," Lily replied, and then smugly, "And my _husband_ and I have to see her."

Tanya looked even sourer when she realized that the "hot guy" had a _wife_, and said, "What are your names?"

"Lily and James Potter," Lily replied promptly. Sighing in annoyance, Tanya pressed a button on a weird looking machine and snapped into the speaker, "Mrs. Dursley, a Lily and James Potter are here to see you!"

"Take the elevator to the fourth floor!" she barked at them, and Lily was only too happy to oblige. Before James left for the elevators, Tanya winked at him, and he quickened his step.

"Are all muggle girls like this?" he asked Lily awkwardly, once they were in an elevator. Lily giggled, now that they were far away from Tanya and on their way to finally see Petunia.

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Petunia paced back and forth restlessly and jumped when the shrill doorbell sounded throughout the small cramped flat. The message from Tanya had been so unexpected! How had Lily found her? And in this precise building too? Well, no duh, it was probably magic. There was nothing magic could not do, and now she had to convince Lily to go back and leave her alone.

Taking as much time as possible, Petunia finally opened the door, to reveal the relieved faces of her little sister and brother-in-law.

"Tuney!" Lily squealed as if she was a little girl again, hugging Petunia tightly. "How could you disappear on me like that? Didn't you know how terribly frightened I was? About what might have happened to you? And what about Dudley and Diana? Do you know the worry you put them through?"

"Lills, you should probably give your sister some breathing space," James advised. "And continue your chatter inside?"

"Fine," Lily said, making her way into the bare flat and settling down on a moth-worn couch. Petunia closed the door behind her and said, "There's nothing to talk about. I am not going back."

"What are you talking about?" asked Lily a little angrily now. "You already established a life in England. You can't just walk out of your children's life like this, out of _my_ life, especially when we have so many years to catch up on? Think sensibly Petunia; you have friends there, family, how can you just leave everything and settle here, in this out of the way place?"

"Yeah, friends who are back-stabbers," Petunia replied darkly, "I can very well do without them, thank you."

"Not everyone's like Yvonne, Tuney," Lily whispered comfortingly, placing an arm around Petunia's shoulders. James looked on uncomfortably, and realizing that this was a time for his wife and sister-in-law to be alone, said, "I'll go make some coffee," and went into the kitchen. After he left the room, Lily turned to Petunia.

"You must come back with us Tuney," Lily whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek, "We promise, we'll get Duncan and Delilah back."

"I like my life here," said Petunia curtly, not quite meeting Lily's eyes as she said this. "Everyone's friendly, and I'm away from anything that might remind me of my old life."

"But you have no one here you could call your own!" Lily protested, "If you come back with us, we'll make sure that _Bastard_ pays for what he did to you!"

"I don't care about him anymore!" Petunia replied darkly, "I just want to escape it all, don't you understand? I want to start another life in a completely different place." Petunia sat down primly on the hard wooden chair across from Lily "You wasted your time coming here, Lily, because I am not going back, and nothing you say will convince me."

"What about Duncan and Delilah?" Lily asked softly, "Are you just going to let them live the rest of their lives with—with that woman who calls herself their mother?"

"She is their mother," replied Petunia solemnly, "As Vernon 'oh so nicely' told me."

"No," said Lily fiercely, "_You're_ their mother, Petunia. You may not have given birth to them, but you brought up those poor darlings from their infancy, as if they _were_ your children! Imagine the state those poor children are in: confused, scared, and unhappy!"

"What can I do about that?" Petunia burst out helplessly, "I am not their mother by blood; how in the world can I get them back?"

"We'll get them back, as I've said many times already," Lily said kindly, "Now stop fussing and come back."

"I can't—oh, I can't!" Petunia broke down crying. Lily felt tears prick her eyes as well, and had a sudden urge to hunt down Vernon Dursley before giving him a slow and painful death. How could he put her sister through so much?

"You can stay with us, where everyone will love you," Lily murmured. "You can rebuild a new life for yourself, without that bastard in it. James and I will work as hard as we can and get Duncan and Delilah back, if that's what you want."

"I do," said Petunia mournfully. "They're not my children by blood, but…I love them as if they were. I brought them up. But—how would I get them back legally?"

"We'll do it, I _promise_," said Lily; then with a mischievous smile, "If nothing else works, we'll confound the jury and the judge, alright?"

Petunia smiled a little at this. "I don't know…I don't want to impose. You already have six children living with you."

"Oh hosh-posh!" Lily said, standing up, "You won't impose at all, but—if you really feel that way, we can find you a good job and get you a comfortable home not far away from us, but until then, you'll stay with us!"

"I guess," said Petunia slowly, "But I still think I should just stay here, and—"

"No buts!" Lily protested, pulling Petunia to her feet. "Now—let's have you packed up." With a flick of her wand, Lily had all of Petunia's clothing and the few belongings she had brought with her packed into her two suitcases. With another flick of her wand, the suitcases turned beetle sized and Lily handed them to Petunia. "Put these into your pocket."

"James dear, how about that coffee now?" Lily called out, walking into the kitchen. Petunia followed her somewhat uncertainly.

The kitchen was filled with the delicious aroma of coffee and cinnamon rolls, and Lily and Petunia breathed in the delectable smell.

"Where'd you get those?" asked Lily, pointing at the cinnamon rolls. James smiled sheepishly and said, "Well, uh—I"

"James, what did you do?" asked Lily, hands on her hips.

"Well—I—uh, kind of…levitated them out of the bakery across the streets," James finished, biting his lip. Lily's eyes narrowed. "You _stole_ them?"

"No, of course not!" James protested, looking offended. "I _of course_ levitated some muggle money back; though the clerk did look very confused and surprised when he found cash on his counter."

Petunia could not hold her smile while Lily shook her head exasperatedly, getting ready to give James a big lecture. "What if someone had seen the rolls and money flying in the air?" she asked him.

"They wouldn't have," said James.

"How are you so sure?" Lily asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Trust me," he replied confidently.

"How did you two arrive here?" Petunia asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Long story," said Lily, "Now come one, let's quickly finish these so that we can leave."

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That evening, Lily used floo powder to apparate to Albus Dumbledore's office. He looked quite surprised to see her at Hogwarts, but was pleased nonetheless.

"Albus, I found you the perfect candidate for Muggle Studies professor," Lily stated_._

"That's good news indeed," replied Dumbledore after Lily had seated herself in his office. "The Ministry has been sending me a number of owls telling me that I must find a professor in one week, or else they would have to choose. I myself am not particularly fond of the Ministry's choices for professors, but the stand-in MS professor is getting impatient to leave. May I inquire as to the identity of this person?"

"My sister, Petunia Dursley," replied Lily.

"Ah, so you have found her, I presume?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Yes," said Lily with a grin, "Just this afternoon. Mr. Shacklebolt in James's office did actually."

"That's good news indeed; I'm happy for you," said Dumbledore, "But Lily, I am sorry to say that I cannot accept a muggle at Hogwarts. For one thing, she will not be able to find or see Hogwarts, and for the other, she won't know any magic, which is quite necessary here, as you know."

"I know, but can't you tweak the rules a little for Petunia, _please_? One doesn't _need_ to know magic to be a Muggle Studies Professor," Lily pleaded.

"It is completely out of my control Lily. I cannot do something the ministry deems wrong, as you very well know. Cornelius Fudge is just looking for a reason to get me out of Hogwarts, and I cannot let that happen. If he finds out I'm going to hire a muggle for a professor, he won't hesitate," replied Dumbledore with a sympathetic look on his face.

Lily sighed and stood up. "I understand. Well, I should be going; the children are waiting for me to read them a bed time story."

"Well, maybe we can adjust the rules a little," Dumbledore called out as Lily neared the fireplace, "Though, I must say it _is_ a high risk."

Lily turned around with a grin, but then stopped. "But I don't want you to risk your position. I'd rather you as a Headmaster than Petunia as a MS professor."

"I'm touched," Dumbledore said with a smile, "But, I'm sure with a little promise of secrecy from the staff and a tweaking of the rules, we can pull this off."

"Thank you, Albus," said Lily sincerely.

"You are very welcome," said Dumbledore, "However, some things will have to be changed. You sister will have to undergo an appearance alteration, and her last name will also have to be changed, so that she can pose as a relative of your husband's. No one must know she is muggle, except a select number of staff members I will personally tell."

"Sure," agreed Lily, "What shall her new name be? And I'll personally see to the appearance change."

"Is not James's mother's maiden name Birmingham? How about Victoria Birmingham?" suggested Dumbledore. Lily looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Petunia—a Victoria?" she asked, aghast?

Dumbledore chuckled. "You know your sister more than I, so you choose the name."

"Hmm…how about Jane Birmingham?" said Lily. Dumbledore nodded.

"It's only a name; I have no problem with that. Now—" said Dumbledore, and with a flick of his wand, another wand materialized on his desk. "—This shall be 'Professor Birmingham's' wand, but it is not a real one. At the most, it will shoot sparks whenever she waves it to 'show' others her 'magical' abilities'. And this—" Dumbledore opened his desk and took out a thick book with a roll of parchment, "—is what she'll need to know by next Monday. Wish her good luck for me, and tell her I expect her here on Sunday evening to adjust to her living quarters."

"Thank you Albus," said Lily, before gathering the items and flooing out of his office.

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A peek into the next chapter…

"_I would like to introduce Professor Jane Birmingham, the new Muggle Studies Professor. Please welcome her by giving a round of applause," said Professor Dumbledore. _

"_Mum, I'm so glad you're okay," whispered Dudley, giving his mother a big hug. _

"_You've got to be the youngest seeker in a century!" Ron proclaimed, his eyes wide with wonder as he stared at Harry._

"_Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy! Detention this evening, 5:00; meet me promptly at my office," Professor McGonagall said, looking annoyed at the two_

**A.N. (I hope you liked this chapter; I tried to put a bit of humor into it, but let me know if my humor sucks and if I should just stick to being serious! ******** Also, tell me if I'm dragging the story and it's becoming boring, and if you would like to see Harry and Dudley's first year over quick so that I can move on. Any advice is completely welcome! Please please **_**please**_** review!!!! And thanks a bunch for allllll the kind reviews I got in my previous chapter!! They really do make my day; I'm not lying! ********)**


	10. Professor Snivellus among many other thi

**Disclaimer:**** I do not, never did, and never will own Harry Potter, so there! ******

**Author's Note:**** Thank you guys for all the reviews! I honestly did not expect to receive so much, and it really did cheer me up when I was stressed out from my finals, so thanks a bunch! **

**Reply to Him-mione****: Hey, don't worry about it. You are entitled to express your thoughts about my story, and your first review was not really that harsh. I've seen worse. ******** I will definitely take your advice to heart, and if you ever find anything lacking in future chapters, don't hesitate to tell me! After all, a good writer should always welcome criticism, and I want to be a novelist when I'm older, so any help is much appreciated. And I'm also really happy you're enjoying my story. I hope I'll be able to maintain your interest. ******

**Results for Poll#4:**_**What is your favorite Harry Potter pairing?**_** Harry and Ginny (3 votes), Harry and Hermione (3 votes), Lily and James (3 votes), Harry and Luna (2 votes), Ron and Hermione (1 vote), Draco and Astoria (1 vote), and Lily and Severus (1 vote)**

**Poll#5:**_**Who is your favorite Ghost at Hogwarts?**_** Please remember to vote!**

Chapter 10: Professor Snivellus among many other things

One week passed by in a flurry of activities, and Harry, Dudley, and their little gang of friends could not believe that it was already Saturday. Harry became quick friends with Ron Weasley, who reminded him of his 'Uncle Padfoot', and that Dean Thomas fellow was nice too, but he seemed to have become closer to Seamus Finnigan, who shared his passion of the muggle sport Football, while all Harry and Ron talked about was Quidditch. Harry also tried his best to include Neville into his and Ron's conversations, because his mother had written him a letter hinting at him to make friends with poor Neville, whose mother had been one of her very close friends, but the boy was just too shy and nervous around even his own classmates. And Draco Malfoy just terrified him, so the poor boy could not even sleep at night, nervously knowing that two beds away, the Malfoy boy slept.

From his very first class, Severus Snape, or _Professor Snivellus_, as Harry and Ron (who had picked up the name from Harry), called him behind his back, showed a great dislike for Harry, though it was no surprise. Harry figured out that Snape hated him so much due to his father James, from whom he had heard some pretty _interesting_ stories regarding _interesting_ pranks. The minute the first year students had entered his classroom and seated themselves, he had begun his long lecture.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

He then barked questions at Harry, intent on not wasting a minute before humiliating him.

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

While Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville looked stumped, Draco just rolled his eyes and Hermione's hand shot up in the air. The only other Gryffindor girls, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. But Harry was not his mother's son for nothing. Looking calm and collected, he promptly answered, "Sir, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death." When Snape (and Hermione for not getting to answer the question) looked disappointed, Harry sighed in relief and made a note to thank his mother in his next letter home for making him read and re-read his potions book. Ron gave him a grin and a thumbs-up.

"A simple question every one of you should have known," Snape finally said, "Alright then Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"I would look in the stomach of a goat sir," replied Harry swiftly, and as an afterthought, "And a bezoar would save you from most potions."

"Thought you'd add to your little fame, did you Potter?" Snape snapped, "I never asked you what a bezoar does. That's one point off for your cheek there."

Harry found this so unfair that he opened his mouth to argue but Ron stepped on his foot, "Don't; Snape would love to take more points off," he whispered, "Fred and George told me he could get pretty nasty."

Seeing Harry's scowl, Snape smirked and said, "Weasley! What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Hermione Granger now jumped out of her seat, her hand nearing the ceiling.

Ron gaped and looked to Harry for help, but Snape said, "Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming here, Weasley? You should have known that monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. That's another point off Gryffindor."

"And Potter," Snape said, rounding on Harry, who was glaring furiously at him now, "Thought it'd make you look good, did you? Why didn't you warn Weasley to open his book before class? That'll be another point off Gryffindor. My my, Gryffindor does seem to be losing a lot of points today. Tut tut…." With a satisfied smile, Snape walked to the front of the classroom and with a wave of his wand, made instructions for a simple potion which would cure boils appear on the blackboard.

Snape favored the Slytherin students to an extent that he overlooked big mistakes on their part while taking away points for the small mistakes any other house made, especially Gryffindor. Sneering down on Harry and Ron's boil cure potion, he took two points off each for a missed ingredient, and simply ignored Hermione Granger's perfect potion while praising Crabbe and Goyle's rubbish looking one, which happened to be worse than Harry and Ron's.

With Draco Malfoy, Snape did not know what to feel. Had Draco been in Slytherin, no doubt Snape would have given him points freely, as the Malfoys were great friends of his, but Draco was unfortunately in Gryffindor, and Snape did not know what Lucius was doing or feeling about this, so he simply chose to ignore Draco for the time being. Of course, this did not go down well with poor Draco, who had been looking for some sympathy from the friend of his father.

But one strange thing was the way in which Snape stared at Harry when Harry was working on the potion with Ron. It almost seemed as if Snape looked _heartbroken_ for a moment, but unsurprisingly, his expression turned stony and sneering once again when Harry caught his gaze and looked up. Needless to say, Harry felt pretty disturbed and worn out by the time the class ended.

"Between us, we lost Gryffindor seven points today," Harry moaned as they trooped out of the classroom after two hours.

"Not to worry," said Ron, "Fred and George always lose a lot, but they gain them back in other classes. According to Percy, it's supposed to be impossible for Gryffindor House to go a day without losing at least 5 points in Potions."

"**Poor Neville though," Harry said, and Ron nodded his head. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion had seeped across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class had been standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. Snape had hollered at Neville for a full 10 minutes, calling him an 'idiot boy' and 'worthless', before making Seamus take him to the Hospital Wing. Thankfully, Harry and Ron had been too far away from Neville and Seamus, so Snape did not blame them for anything, like he might have done. However, poor Neville did have five points taken from Gryffindor, so adding it to Harry and Ron's, Gryffindor House lost 12 points that class period alone.**

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**History of Magic was, the first years (even the Slytherins) all agreed, the most boring and pointless class in this _history_ of Hogwarts. It was taught by a droning ghost called Cuthbert Binns, who had once long ago fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire, died in his sleep, and left his body behind the next morning to teach. It was doubted whether even he knew that he was dead, but Professor Binns did enter the classroom everyday through the wall facing the students, so it was assumed that he did. It was said that Professor Dumbledore had once 'hinted' retirement, and the old ghost teacher had burst into sobs, so the old Headmaster had never brought up the issue again, which was a pity, as the subject itself was not a monotonous one if taught the right way and by the right teacher. **

"Mum would be an awesome History of Magic professor," Harry thought one day, before dropping into a nap in the said class.

Filius Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw House and Professor of Charms, was a tiny elf-like man who had to stand on a long pile of books to see the class over his desk. A cheerful wizard who had knowledge beyond what he exhibited, he nevertheless toppled out of sight when he first read Harry's name during roll call on the first day of class, receiving snickers and giggles from the students. But Professor Flitwick became a great favorite with the students, as he was a fair and fun teacher while also keeping relative control over his class.

Hermione Granger became a great favorite of his, being the first in their class to master the _tersus velox_, which was a very simple cleaning charm that generally tidied up very small messes. Earning 5 points for her achievement, Hermione almost earned back the points the Gryffindors had lost from Snape that very day.

Herbology, the Gryffindors found out, quickly became Neville's favorite subject. He always looked so nervous and stuttered in other classes, but in Herbology, he was a brand new person, working on the various plants with diligence and a passion Harry often saw in his mother when she was cooking or gardening. Defense Against the Dark Arts, which Harry had been looking forward to greatly since he wanted to be an Auror like his dad, was clearly a joke he soon found out with disappointment, at least when it was taught by the coward-like Professor Quirrel, who read straight out of the book and shivered whenever he reached a "scary part".

Astronomy was perhaps the only really _tiresome_ class, as it was taught at Midnight in the Astronomy Tower by Professor Sinistra. One hour long, they had to study the night skies through telescopes and write long essays on the various planets and stars. It became Dean Thomas's favorite subject, as he had always wanted to be an Astronaut.

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That Saturday morning, about one week after school started, Harry had received a small note from Hagrid, inviting him to tea at half past two. Ron tagged along, but before they left the Gryffindor Common Room at 2:20, Harry turned to Neville, who was staring at the fire place with a bored and lonely expression.

"Want to come along, Nev?" asked Harry. Neville jumped.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Hagrid's hut for tea," replied Harry, "And I know he's going to be delighted if you accompany us. Hagrid always loves visitors. The more, the merrier."

Neville brightened, and replied, "Alright then, if you're sure Hagrid won't mind."

"He won't," said Harry, then turning to Malfoy, who was stooped over one of the long tables with a book, he said, "Want to come with us Malfoy?" Ron gawked and Neville gasped. Harry himself was surprised. What had prompted him to ask _Malfoy_ to tea with _Hagrid_? The thought itself seemed absurd, but perhaps it had been the expression on Malfoy's face: haughty as usual, but with a twinge of loneliness…..and could it be, traces of tears?

Malfoy merely looked up with a cold look on his face. "What made you think I'd want to come along with _you_?" he sneered, "and to a _Half-Breed's hut_ at that!"

"Watch it," Harry replied with equal coldness, "I was only trying to be nice, but since you're incapable of any humane feelings, I'll just leave you alone. Come on guys."

After the three left the Common Room, Malfoy turned back to his book with a scowl, but was it a twinge of regret that plagued his heart? Probably not….or so Malfoy convinced himself before sighing and heading up to his dormitory to write a letter to Pansy. She hadn't replied to any of his letters, and he had written one every day so far. Was he losing his only friend? And then there was the letter from his father…..Malfoy shuddered whenever he thought of it, lying in his trunk. He wished that the Winter Holidays would not come too fast…there would be hell to pay at home.

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"What prompted you to ask Malfoy to _tea_?" asked Ron as he, Harry, and Neville left the Main Castle.

"Dunno; I felt sorry for him I guess," replied Harry.

"I…I saw him crying an hour ago," Neville murmured, staring at his feet as he remembered the uncomfortable incident. Of course, Malfoy did not know that someone, and _Neville_ at that, had seen him crying, but still…

"Crying?" Ron said, looking shocked, "Malfoy…crying? You've got to be out of your mind, Neville!"

"It's true," Neville replied.

"Wonder what's wrong," Harry muttered, feeling bad that he had called Malfoy inhumane, though at the time he had felt he deserved it.

The three made their way across the green lush grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the border of the forbidden forest. His yard was covered with oversized pumpkins and lots of unused household items. Though messy, the overall atmosphere of the place was one of warmth and _home_. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "_Back_, Fang – _back_."

Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.

"Hang on," he said. "_Back_, Fang." He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.

"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, "and Neville, my new friends." Ron was staring with awe at his surroundings, and did not hear Harry, but Neville beamed when Harry proclaimed him his friend. No one had ever introduced _him_, Neville Longbottom, as their _friend_ before! It sure felt good.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." Then glancing at the nervous Neville, he said, "And yer Alice Prewett's son."

When Neville nodded, Hagrid continued. "You look jus' like yer mother, blond hair and blue eyes, but I can see yer father's resemblance too. Great people, yer mother and father, great people." Hagrid then wiped away a tear and set about making tea and rock cakes.

Neville beamed, and immediately warmed up to Hagrid. Here was someone who could tell him about his mother and father without comparing him to them. His grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, did love him and supplied him with everything he needed, but she had a habit of comparing Neville to his parents, especially his father Frank, and telling him he was a hopeless case.

The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry, Neville, and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot – great with animals." While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the _Daily Prophet_:

_GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. "But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon._

Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.

"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were in Diagon Alley!" Harry read the story again. _The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day._ Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for? And come to think about it, his Mum, Dad, and Sirius _had_ looked tensed the day after they went to Diagon Alley. How much did they know of this robbery and what did they know of the item itself? And most importantly, how could he find out?

"Ah, yer thinking too much," dismissed Hagrid, with a wave of his hand, but he did not quire meet Harry's eyes. "Here, help yerself to another rock cake."

As Harry, Neville, and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Ron and Neville talked animatedly about their visit to Hagrid's, but Harry's mind was too preoccupied.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

That night after dinner was completed, Professor Dumbledore stood up and held up one hand to bring silence. After the Great Hall quieted down, he said, "As everyone knows, our replacement Muggle Studies Professor, Mr. Hornbeck, has kindly filled in the post for the first week this year due to the departure of Professor Johnson last year, but Professor Hornbeck is eager to get back to his retirement, so I am pleased to announce that he is free to do so. Now, I would like to introduce Professor Jane Birmingham, the new Muggle Studies Professor. Please welcome her by giving a round of applause."

Harry, Dudley, and their friends now noticed a woman sitting on the staff table standing up. She had straight shoulder length black hair, deep midnight blue eyes, and a pale complexion. Oddly, she looked quite familiar to Harry, who had never seen her before in his life.

"Harry, you didn't tell us your Aunt was coming to teach at Hogwarts," Ron said, staring at Harry with reproachful eyes.

"Huh?" Harry said, confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me," said Ron, looking disbelievingly at Harry, "Everyone knows that the Birminghams are related to your Dad's family through his mother's side. She must be his cousin or something. Don't tell me you never met her!"

"Of course I did," said Harry, grinning but feeling utterly confused, "I was just fooling with you." _Who the heck is Jane Birmingham, he thought._

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Mum, I'm so glad you're okay," whispered Dudley, giving his mother a big hug. It was an hour after dinner, and Professor Dumbledore had secretly called him to his office. When Dudley had gotten there, he saw the new Professor Birmingham waiting there for him with Professor Dumbledore. After his confused glance, Dumbledore had revealed to him that "Professor Birmingham" was none other than his mother, Petunia Dursley! Throughout his shocked silence, his mother had revealed to him how his Aunt and Uncle had found her and secured her a job as the Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts, and seeing that she was a muggle herself, it would be quite an easy job.

Dudley still could not believe it. His mother was actually back, and there was going to be a custody trial the day after New Years! "We'll get your younger brother and sister back no matter what," his mother whispered into his hair, "Your Aunt and Uncle said they'll use magic to confound the jury if need be."

Dudley's head hurt. Everything was happening so fast, and he didn't have time to take it all in slowly. His mother told him she had found a good cottage in Godric's Hollow itself, two blocks from the Potter Manor, which had three bedrooms and was cozy enough, though it might be a bit cramped with four children and one adult.

"We'll move in after your first year is over," she said, "You'll have to share a room with Duncan and Diana with Delilah, but since you and next year Diana are going to be at Hogwarts for most of the year, it won't be so bad."

Dudley nodded and said, "Does Harry know about all this?"

"He'll be finding out right now," said Petunia, "through a letter Lily sent him."

Dudley spent the next hour telling his mother all about his first week, and the new friends he had made in Hufflepuff. But then he had to go back to his Common Room, as his mother needed to prepare for her first class on Monday.

**/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////**

_The next evening…_

"Ugh," Ron groaned as he glanced at the notice board in the Gryffindor Common Room. "We have Flying classes tomorrow morning with the Slytherins! _Why_ are we always paired with them?"

"I suppose they want to encourage 'inter-house unity'," replied Harry, yawning.

"Not gonna happen," said Ron. Off to the corner, they saw Hermione Granger with her head buried in _Quidditch Through the Ages_, muttering flying tips to an eager looking Neville, and looking quite wild and frightened.

"Something she doesn't know, huh?" commented Ron, smirking. He had found Hermione quite proud, with the way she held her head high and answered every single question in class without giving others a turn, and was enjoying the fact that she would have to do something one couldn't learn from a book.

Hermione got up and paced back and forth restlessly, wringing her hands.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her; she's a nightmare, honestly," said Ron rather loudly before Harry could quiet him. Hermione heard, along with a lot of others. The Common Room became rather quiet, and turning red from embarrassment and hurt, Hermione ran up the stairs to the Girls' dormitories. Before she reached the top step, Harry and Ron glimpsed tears streaming down her face. Harry turned to Ron with an exasperated look.

"You can't be a bit quieter, can you?" he asked with a sigh.

"She had it coming for her," replied Ron, though he looked uncomfortable and a bit repentant. Off towards the end of the room, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the other two first year girls, giggled. They did not like Hermione either. It was doubted whether anyone actually did.

The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Neville met Dean and Seamus at the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Looking forward to flying lessons?" asked Harry eagerly. He couldn't wait to start. Maybe he would even make the Gryffindor Quidditch Team next year if Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, recommended him. Suddenly, Mail interrupted his thoughts as owl after owl swooped in, dropping packages onto their owners' laps.

A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "…you've forgotten something…"

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who had just entered the Great Hall, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.

Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.

"What's going on?" she asked sharply

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor," replied Neville. Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. "I was just looking," he muttered before he walked to his usual place at the Gryffindor table: in the middle where it was generally empty and no one bothered him. Not that anyone ever wanted to anyway.

Harry stared at him for a few seconds. Malfoy seemed pretty cheerful that day considering the way he had moped around the past week, complaining about being in Gryffindor.

Malfoy _did_ feel pretty cheerful. Pansy had finally sent him a reply telling him to meet her in front of the Slytherin Common Room after dinner. Of course, it was a very short reply, but it was something.

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.

Their instructor, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked, "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouted. Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's, obviously, had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. There was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground. Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years. Malfoy scowled and ignored them, along with the hostile looks the Slytherin First Years, his "would have been" classmates gave him.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"

"STOP!"

All heads whirled around to see Professor McGonagall's form running towards them.

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**A.N. (Yes, I know that I did not include all of the sneak previews from the previous chapter, and I apologize for that, but towards the end of this chapter, another idea popped into my head, so the sneak previews of the previous chapter will be shown in the next, and there will not be any sneak previews for this chapter. Sorry!**

**Anyone who read **_**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**_** more than once will recognize the excerpts from the book I used. Sorry for not underlining them, but someone told me it disturbed the flow of the story, so I did not mark them. If anyone knows a way to quote from the book, please tell me. **

**I personally feel that this story is moving like a soap opera: annoyingly slow with nothing really happening. If any of you feel this way, do not hesitate to tell me. I will quicken things up. Or if you feel this pace if alright, also tell me that. **

**And don't forget to review. All of your reviews are so helpful, and I really value feedback, so please leave at least a small review telling me how you feel. Thanks in advance!**

**By the way, the next chapter will feature more Dudley. **

**All of you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope your holidays are relaxing and enjoyable. I'll try my best to post another chapter before 2009 as a New Year's Treat, but if I am not able to, you'll definitely get one in early January. See ya!) **


	11. Detention with Malfoy

**A.N. Enjoy, Sorry for the long wait. College is getting tougher, and Law School is no joke. ******

**Chapter 11: Detention with Malfoy**

"I still can't believe you've been made seeker," said Ron that evening, wolfing down Macaroni and Cheese in the Great Hall.

"Me neither," replied Harry, "Or I would have insisted that you help me catch some of Professor McGonagall's parchments too."

"Ah, but that would have been of no use," said Ron, "There was only the seeker position left on the team. Fred and George are Beaters, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell are Chasers, and as you know, Oliver Wood's the Keeper. Maybe I would have become a replacement player or something."

"What was McGonagall doing anyway, letting her papers fly all over the place?" asked Harry, "I wouldn't have expected it of her."

What had happened was that just as the group had been getting ready to fly, the exceptions being Neville, who had looked like he was entering a nightmare, and Hermione, who had looked extremely jittery on trying something out for the first time without the good assistance of a book, Professor McGonagall had come running out onto the Hogwarts grounds, trying to catch the multitude of parchment sheets which had flown out of her first floor office window. Madam Hooch had done a spell to catch the papers and had caught nearly all of them except one, which had flown fifty feet into the air. Harry, being _ever_ the gentleman, had got onto his broom immediately and had flown the fifty feet at a remarkable speed (for a school broom), but the paper, which seemed to have decided it had enough flying, started to descend into the Hogwarts lake nearby, but Harry swooped 50 feet down amid shrieks from some of the first year girls (mainly Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown) and caught the paper just in time without even touching the water. All in all, it had been a pretty dramatic incident, but as Professor McGonagall had told him over and over, nothing less was expected from the son of James Potter.

Needless to say, Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch had been furious that he had taken such a risk for an after all unimportant paper, and Madam Hooch had even taken 10 points off Gryffindor for the foolish stunt, but Professor McGonagall, after thanking him, had taken him into an empty corridor in the school and told him to wait. A few minutes later, she returned with Oliver Wood, a 5th year Gryffindor and also the captain/keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. McGonagall told both Wood and Harry that he had chosen Harry as seeker for the team. Wood was at first doubtful of Harry's flying abilities, him being a first year after all, but after McGonagall related to him all the particulars of the incident, he became enthusiastic. Harry, needless to say, was shocked, but excited just the same. The first thing he had done was write a letter to his parents, telling them of everything. He knew they would be proud, especially his dad and Sirius.

"Who cares?" said Ron, "Look, there's your cousin!"

Harry was brought out of his reverie and looked up, seeing Dudley approaching the Gryffindor Table, with Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie MacMillan trailing him. The three Hufflepuff boys had become quick friends, finding much in common, especially Dudley and Justin.

"Hey Duds; Hello Justin, Ernie," greeted Harry after Dudley and his friends sat down.

"Just heard about you making the Gryffindor team. Congrats!" said Dudley enthusiastically.

"Thanks; I still can't believe it myself. According to Wood, I'm—" started Harry.

"--the youngest seeker in a century," finished Dudley with a grin, "believe me, I know, Malcolm Preece has been talking about it all day."

"He has?" asked Harry with surprise. He had gotten the idea that Malcolm Preece, another Hufflepuff boy in Dudley's year, didn't really like him all that much.

"Yeah, though not nicely mind you," said Dudley with a smirk, "He insists that your 'airs' have only increased after you were made seeker." Harry and Ron laughed, and saw Neville reaching the table, huffing.

"Where have you been, Nev?" asked Harry.

"Library," replied Neville, catching his breath and dropping into a seat between Harry and Ron, "with Hermione; she's been reading me tips about flying all day. I appreciate it greatly you know, but I _don't_ want to hear about flying class for another whole week!"

"You wouldn't Longbottom," piped up Malfoy meanly five seats away, "You're hardly stable with your two feet on the ground. Imagine the disaster you would cause in the air!" The boys jumped. Used to the moping and quiet attitude of Draco Malfoy ever since school started, they were quite surprised whenever he made little jibes like this, which wasn't often.

"Take that back Malfoy," said Harry with a glare as Neville became subdued, too scared to talk back to Malfoy.

"Make me," retorted Malfoy. "You're not all that great as people make you out to be, you know. I doubt if you'd last a minute in a Wizard's Duel!"

"Oh yeah? I can take you on any time," said Harry, standing up. Dudley pushed him back onto his seat and hissed, "Are you stupid? Don't cause a scene _here_!"

Harry ignored Dudley and took out his wand, though not really knowing what to do, as they hadn't learned many spells yet. Malfoy too took out his wand. Dudley and Ron stood up to defend Harry if needed. By now, they had caught the attention of the students, and the hall became hushed, but Professor McGonagall, who could sniff trouble in a heartbeat, was beside them in a second.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Weasley, Mr. Evans! Detention after dinner! Dueling without permission, and that too in the Great Hall, is _strictly_ against the rules! Meet me at my office at 8:00 sharp."

"But Professor, Malfoy started it, Dudley and Ron didn't do anything," Harry started to say, but McGonagall interrupted him.

"Do not argue with me, Mr. Potter. Now, all of you meet me at 8:00 and I will see to your punishment." With that, she went back to the staff table with a sweep of her robes.

"I told you so," sighed Dudley, but with a shrug of his shoulders, and an "Oh well, see you at 8'," he went back to the Hufflepuff table with Justin and Ernie, both of whom had been rendered speechless by the small scene which had just taken place.

Harry and Ron glared at Malfoy, who returned the glare.

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_At 8:00 P.M., Professor McGonagall's Office on the first floor_

Professor McGonagall's Office was tastefully decorated in the traditional Gryffindor colors of scarlet and gold, and also with a few deep blues and greens here and there. A long polished wooden desk lined one wall of the office, and long bookshelves crammed with Transfiguration and Magical Reference books lined two others. A long 'wall to floor' file cabinet was next to her desk, and when Harry, Ron, Dudley, and Malfoy (who stood a little away from the other three) entered the office, she was pulling their files out of it and marking something on each of them.

"For your detention, I will pair you up with each other and assign you jobs to do. It is not too complicated, but mind that in the future, should any further misconduct continue, punishment will be more severe. Understand?" When they nodded, she continued. "Mr. Evans and Mr. Weasley shall sweep the bed pans in the Hospital Wing, and Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy shall wipe the trophies in the Trophy Room. Madam Pomfrey and Mr. Filch will give you further instructions. Now, off you go!"

Harry and Draco looked highly disgruntled that they had been paired together, and trudged to the trophy room while Ron and Dudley, relieved that they had not been paired with Draco, trotted off the Hospital Wing, intent on getting their work done quickly and retire for the night.

In front of the trophy room stood Mr. Filch, with a nasty smirk on his face and holding out two rather dirty towels and a spray which Harry and Draco suspected carried a Muggle cleaning liquid. "I will come back in two hours," he told them, smiling wickedly and leaving with Mrs. Norris by his side. Harry and Draco were relieved. They didn't think they could get anything done with that nuisance of a cat by their side.

For awhile, neither Harry nor Draco talked, intent on quickly wiping the trophies and getting to sleep. The trophy room was very large, and filled with hundreds of gold, silver, and bronze trophies. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. As Harry, worked, he scanned the lists of names with boredom, hoping to find one for someone he recognized, his parents perhaps, or Uncle Remus and Uncle Padfoot. But all he saw were rows upon rows of trophies awarded to people he had never heard of in his life. Little did he know that this 'worst punishment ever' would assist him greatly later on.

_Bartholomew Hurst (1867-1945) for finding a cure for magical boils in his 7__th__ year. _

_Jane Hamilton (1854-1920) for discovering the Room of Illusions on the 5__th__ floor corridor._

_Tom Marvalo Riddle for pure intelligence in apprehending the monstrosity released from the Chamber of Secrets._

_Natalia Monroe (1901-1970) for leading the school to victory against Beauxbatons in a Gobstones Match. _

Harry stifled a yawn. He knew none of these people, though Tom Riddle _did_ sound awfully familiar to him. 'I think Dad mentioned him a long time ago, something about him being a Slytherin git and not deserving this trophy.'

And finally…. 'Yes!' Harry thought, looking at two bright golden trophies next to each other.

_James Potter (1960-present) for leading the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to victory in the 1978 Quidditch Championships._

_Lily Evans (1960-present) for earning 1__st__ prize in the Potions Fair in 1977._

--And there were more, this time with their names together—

_James Potter and Lily Evans (1960-present) for their calm nerve and expert thinking which saved the lives of the young students in Hogwarts during Lord Voldemort's first attack on the school in 1977. _

_James Potter and Lily Evans (1960-present) for their involvement in the apprehension of dangerous Death Eater Shane Jonas, who caused the murder of many innocent muggles and also the distinguished parents of young James Potter, in 1978._

Moving down the line, Harry saw some with his Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius's names too.

_Sirius Black (1960-present) for his sheer nerve and courage during the attack by Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts in 1977, which saved Professor Hamilton from a life of insanity and isolation at a ward in St. Mungo's._

_Sirius Black (1960-present) for leading the school to victory against Durmstrang in the 1975 chess tournament. _

_Remus Lupin (1960-present) for apprehending the feared werewolf known as Fenrir Greyback (currently residing in Azkaban prison) during the second attack of the school in 1978, and saving a young child by the name of Samuel Bones from becoming one of the most feared creatures in the Magical World._

_Remus Lupin (1960-present) for achieving 1__st__ prize by reading 150 books during the year in the 1974 book fair._

Harry jumped when he heard Malfoy's curt voice. "It's been about two hours; I suppose we can leave."

Checking his watch, Harry realized that it _had_ been two hours. Strange, he hadn't even realized that he'd wiped over a 100 trophies, so intent on glimpsing his parents' names in between all the others.

"Filch told us to wait," Harry replied just as curtly, packing his bags. Then, feeling a stab of pity for the lonely Malfoy who had no friends, he said, "Look—Malfoy—"

Malfoy turned around with a scowl. "What?" he snapped. Harry nearly glared back and was about to retort meanly when, after taking a few deep breaths, he said, "We're in the same house, whether you like it or not, and seven years of sharing a dormitory with those you hate isn't going to be pleasant for you."

"Why do you care? I can look after myself. Just mind your own business!" snapped Malfoy.

"Fine!" Harry retorted, "I was going to offer you a friendship request, or at least a peace treaty, but I see you don't need it!" He turned around to wait for Filch by the door, but heard an abrupt, "Fine."

"What?" asked Harry with astonishment. Had he been imagining it, or had Malfoy just accepted his friendship?

"I am not going to become your friend over night or something, in case you're wondering, and neither do I want to exchange words of pleasantries with Weasley and Longbottom, but I accept your peace treaty, and am willing not to cause arguments if you are."

Harry looked at Malfoy, and said, "Uh, okay. We don't have to shake hands or anything, do we?"

"Not if I can help it," replied Malfoy with a wrinkle in his nose. Just because he had agreed not to be a moping git anymore didn't mean he wanted to be Potter's _friend_. The thought itself was revolting. Being a friend of Harry Potter meant being a friend of that over-eager and annoying accomplice of a Weasley and the coward like Longbottom. No, better to keep clear of them and mind his own business. Malfoy sighed. How unlike a Malfoy he had become since school began. Was this what Gryffindor had done to him? Make such a _softie_ out of him that he accepted a _peace_ request?

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"You suppose they've killed each other off?" wondered Ron aloud as he and Dudley walked towards the trophy room to get Harry. Madam Pomfrey, pleased with their work, had let them go 10 minutes before the allotted time.

"Maybe," shrugged Dudley, "But never am I going to clean another bedpan! The one in the right corner was absolutely revolting! With the amount of detentions kids here get, one would think the bed pans in the Hospital Wing would be spotless!"

"If you're anything like Fred and George, no way would the teachers give you this kind of punishment. No, I suppose old McGonagall was telling the truth when she said this was a simple punishment."

Just then, Dudley and Ron stopped in their tracks. A sight of a most perplexing nature met their eyes.

**AN: Hit the review button folks! Next chapter will be up very soon, I promise. Sorry for not changing the poll this time, but I'm still thinking of a good one, so the next chapter will contain a new poll, 'kay?**

**I've been reading a lot of Jane Austen these days, so some of my sentences may contain an "olden day" tinge to it. Sorry if it disturbs the Harry Potter setting!**


	12. Fluffy and Denby

**Hi all! Thanks a bunch to all those who reviewed my fanfic. It was very sweet of you, and I enjoyed reading every one of them. Enjoy this chapter!**

**Results for Poll #5: **_**Who is your favorite ghost at Hogwarts?**_** Peeves the Poltergeist (8 votes), The Grey Lady (5 votes), Nearly-Headless Nick (4 votes), The Bloody Baron (2 votes), and The Fat Friar (0 votes)**

**Poll #6: **_**Which Marauder do you like the best?**_** Please take the time to vote!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Need I say more?**

Chapter 12: Fluffy and Denby

"Neville?" called out Dudley, glancing at the scrunched up form of the sleeping boy in front of the portrait of Akikei the legendary Dragon.

Neville jumped and immediately awakened. "Dud-Dudley, Ron, I'm so-so glad to see you. The Bloody Baron's been past twice, and I think he just went to fetch Filch."

"What are you doing out here anyway?" questioned Ron, as the trio hurried out of the corridor before Filch and his irksome cat Mrs. Norris caught them.

"I forgot the password to the Gryffindor Common Room," replied Neville nervously, "I suddenly remembered it when I found the Fat Lady gone from her portrait, so I decided to wait here in the shadow till' a prefect or someone came around."

"Okay, but don't make any noise. We're trying to find Harry so that we can leave before we get in trouble for wandering the corridors after hours," said Dudley, making a hushing noise.

The three of them made their way up the marble staircase to the first floor, and stopped in their tracks when they saw Harry and Draco Malfoy up ahead.

"Psst, Harry!" Dudley called out noiselessly. Harry and Draco jumped and turned around. Harry's face broke into a grin.

"Duds! Ron! Neville! Look what I found!" he exclaimed, pointing at something behind a glass case. Dudley, Ron, and Neville hurried over and saw a golden plaque labeled: _James Potter: Chaser of Gryffindor Quidditch Team and Captain from 1975-1978._

"Cool, huh?" Harry piped up, behind Dudley, Ron, and Neville. Draco stood a little distance off, not sure whether he should leave or not.

"Yeah," Dudley replied wistfully. He wished he had a Dad he idolized as much as Harry idolized his. Then his mind turned back to the days before he found out he was a Wizard, when he had been Dudley Dursley instead of Dudley Evans: happy family moments between his mum and dad, him and his siblings, the amusement park trips during birthdays, the frolics in the park, him and Duncan playing baseball with Vernon on weekend, and so many more.

Harry, looking as if he understood what Dudley was thinking, immediately regretted showing him the plaque and said, "Draco and I have been trying to find Filch so that we can sign out and go to bed. Do you know where he is?"

"Would we be here if we knew?" asked Ron, smirking. The others, except Draco, laughed. Suddenly, they heard a sniffing noise near by.

"Who's that?" called out Dudley.

"It sounds like someone's crying," reflected Harry.

Hermione Granger suddenly came out of the girls' bathroom off to the right corner. She was wiping her eyes, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Harry, Draco, Ron, Dudley, and Neville.

"What are you doing here?" she asked them, putting on her usual bossy expression despite the obvious tear streaks on her cheeks. "You're wandering the corridors after dark. What if you got caught? You could lost Gryffindor more points!"

"The same can be said for you!" Ron said, glaring at her. Hermione glared back and was about to retort when Harry shushed them both.

"Listen here you two; we'll _all_ get in trouble if Filch catches us, as Neville and Hermione are here and they clearly did not have any detentions. Let's just get to our dormitories fast, and Draco and I will explain to Filch tomorrow that we left after waiting for him a long time."

The group nodded and Dudley said, "I'll just go back down then. The Hufflepuff Dormitories are on the ground floor."

But when he turned around to walk down the Marble Staircase, he saw Peeves the Poltergeist, hovering a few feet from the ground with a smug smile on his face. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Peeves – please – you'll get us thrown out," pleaded Harry.

Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please," Hermione said in a sweet voice, trying to convince Peeves to leave them alone.

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves – this was a big mistake, Harry smacked his forehead and Draco wondered at Weasley's stupidity. Even _he_ knew that one shouldn't mess with Peeves!

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, up a moving staircase which dropped them off on the third floor, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door – it was locked.

"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"

They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeve's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "_Alohomora!_"

The lock clicked and the door swung open – they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"**Say 'please.'"**

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now _where did they go?_"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right—_please_."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"

And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay – get _off_, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "_What?_"

Harry turned around – and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare – this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.

They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden. They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads, three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

Harry groped for the doorknob – between Filch and death, he'd take Filch. They fell backward – Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared – all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. Dudley ran down the marble staircase to the Hufflepuff Common Room while the rest of them took more staircases to the Gryffindor Common Room. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.

"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.

"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.

"Never mind that – pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry. And the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling into armchairs. It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again, Draco looked terrified and his usual cocky manner was replaced by a wordless expression as he stared around the common room, for once grateful for its comforts, Hermione's pale face was starting to regain color as she stood up, Ron was slumped across his armchair, and Harry wiped the sweat from his face as he contemplated what he had just seen.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."

"No, _not _the floor," Draco broke in, regaining his voice as well. Everyone looked at him in surprise, and Hermione glanced gratefully at him. Finally, _someone_ who understood where she was going! "It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something," he finished

"Well, we're sorry for not noticing what it was standing on, Mr. _Obvious_. In case you hadn't noticed, it had three heads!" snapped Ron. Neville nodded vigorously. He still hadn't gotten over the shock of nearly dying.

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed – or worse, expelled," Hermione sniffed contemptuously.

"What are you talking about? We never asked you to come with us. You were just there!" Ron said, but Hermione was already gone, having hurried up to the Girls' Dormitories for a good night's rest. "And how is getting expelled worse than dying? _Boy_, does she have her priorities mixed up!"

"Well, if you don't mind, _I'm_ going to bed," sniffed Draco in a similar manner to Hermione.

Ron stared after him, his mouth open. "No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we forced him into a stroll against his wishes or something, wouldn't you? And Harry, since when have you called Malfoy Draco?"

"That _is_ his name," was Harry's reply.

But Hermione and Draco had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had his father said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide – except perhaps Hogwarts. It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault 713 was.

But the question, as he snuggled up among his sheets, was: what had his parents, Uncle Padfoot, and Uncle Remus to do with the three headed monster? Were they in on Professor Dumbledore's secret? And how important exactly was the little package which the dog was supposedly hiding?

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As the month of October arrived, the grounds of Hogwarts were covered by orange, red, and golden leaves, and the students daily saw Hagrid sweeping them away while humming a tune to himself. The weather turned chillier, and in their respective Common Rooms, groups of kids could be found doing their homework huddled around the fireplaces. A true sight to behold was the enormous pumpkins planted in Hagrid's large garden behind his cozy hut, nearing 8 ft. by mid October. They would be later used for the Halloween Feast.

Harry had tried to discuss the three headed dog with Dudley, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and even Draco, but other than Ron and Dudley, the other three could care less what the dog was doing there. They just didn't want to go near it again.

"I wonder what it's guarding that could be so important as to have a _three-headed dog_ guard it," said Harry one morning in Mid-October.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.

"Or _both_," said Dudley. Harry and Ron were sitting at the Hufflepuff table that day with Dudley, Justin, and Ernie, as they had not received any interested reaction from those of their own table. Justin and Ernie had been filled in on the whole incident the morning after, and were just as curious as Dudley, Ron, and Harry as to what it could be.

"Maybe we could ask the teachers what three-headed dog is doing here," suggested Justin. Ron looked at him incredulously.

"Are you joking? We'd get in trouble before you could say 'Magic'! We're not _supposed_ to know about what's in the 3rd floor corridor," he stressed.

Since all Harry, Ron, or Dudley knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Neither Neville nor Hermione nor Draco showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. Especially after Ron's insult to her a month ago, her feelings towards them had never been warm, and this incident did nothing to improve them. Draco was his usual silent self, and immersed himself in his school work.

After learning that Harry had made the team, Lily and James had sent him a note telling him how proud they were, and sent through the mail his Nimbus 2000 which he had gotten for his birthday. Harry's classmates had crowded around his broom and oooed and aawed for hours. Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, had been ecstatic when Harry brought the broom to his first practice, and all the team members had taken turns riding on it out of sheer awe. They felt the Quidditch Cup was sure to be theirs this year, not only because of the Nimbus 2000, but Harry's apparent talent as a seeker.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom.

Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Draco Malfoy, which wasn't as bad as he would have originally thought. Ever since the 'peace treaty', Malfoy hadn't been as nasty as before, but he wasn't profusely friendly either. Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day they had the run in with the three-headed dog.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too – never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

It was very difficult. Harry and Draco swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Draco got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it – Harry had to put it out with his hat.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "it's Wing-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of class.

"She thinks she's so good," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. Then, mimicking her, "It's levi-_o_-sa, not levi-o-_sa_! Honestly, she's a nightmare!" Seamus and Dean snickered at Ron's impression of Hermione, but Harry and Neville stared uncomfortable at each other. Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face – and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"I think she heard you," he said quietly.

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends with that attitude of hers."

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon.

On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender Brown that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter.

The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped,

"Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" Percy was in his element. "Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

"How could a _troll_ get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs. Their year was getting weirder and weirder

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.

"I've just thought—Hermione," he said urgently. Then, glancing over his shoulder, he found Dudley wedged between two third year Hufflepuffs, and called out, "Oi! Duds!"

"What about her?" asked Ron, as Dudley made his way over to them

"She doesn't know about the troll," Harry said. Then, when Dudley reached them, he explained the situation to him. "We have to find her."

Ron bit his lip. "Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."

Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me," said Dudley.

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.

"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.

"Can you smell something?" he asked suspiciously.

Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seemed to clean. And then they heard it – a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet.

Ron pointed – at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

"It reminds me of Denby the Troll," Dudley suddenly remarked quietly. Ron and Harry looked at him strangely. "Denby," repeated Dudley at their confused expressions, "Haven't you heard of Denby? Oh, never mind! It's a children's story."

The troll, now nicknamed Denby by Dudley, stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

"The key's in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door and lock it.

"_Yes_!"

Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop – a high, petrified scream – and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.

"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.

"You didn't—" said Dudley, eyes widening.

"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.

"_Hermione_!" They all said together.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Harry didn't remember exactly what had happened after that, but it did include rushing into the girls' bathroom, battling with the troll, and Ron finally knocking it out with its own club. Needless to say, Professor McGonagall had been furious when she found out they had gone after the troll themselves, but the fact remained that they _had_ knocked out a fully grown mountain troll, and after Hermione's first ever lie to a teacher, in which she had said she had gone after the troll thinking she could stop it, McGonagall rewarded them 10 points (and Dudley 5)—but only after taking away 5 from Hermione.

It's strange how things work out. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll—also called Denby--is one of them. From that day on, Hermione Granger became a friend of theirs, and the trio became a quartet, all due to Denby the Troll. Bless him.

**A.N. You might have noticed that I used quite a lot of passages from the book. I tried changing it as best as I could, so if it sounds too familiar, I apologize. However, I do not take any credit for any passages you recognize as belonging to JK Rowling's **_**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**_**…..just to let you know. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'd really appreciate it if you review. I'd really love to know how I'm doing. So please please review!**


	13. Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs

**A.N. I apologize for the extremely long wait, but some things occurred which required my immediate attention. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please do remember to review. Thanks.**

**I will keep up the previous poll, as I have not received much votes, so please do take the time to vote in the poll in my profile if you have not done so already. **

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the magical characters and settings of the beloved world which JK Rowling created. I have used some passages from **_**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**_**, so I do not take any credit for passages which you recognize. They belong solely to Mrs. Rowling.**

Chapter 13: Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too – "

"Jordan!" snapped Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry Minnie, won't happen again," assured Lee Jordan, then glancing at her furious expression, quickly said, "okay okay, so Johnson in possession of the Quaffle, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve – back to Johnson and – no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes – Flint flying like an eagle up there – he's going to sc – no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle – that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and – OUCH – that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger-"

The angry shouts of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff filled the pitch along with the gleeful calls of the Slytherins. As Harry flew around the pitch in search of the snitch, he saw his parents, Uncle Padfoot, Uncle Remus, and his aunt (still in disguise) seated at teacher's seats in between Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick. They waved at him and he waved back with a grin. His dad gave him a 'thumbs up' and his mum gave him a warm smile. Wanting to make them all proud, Harry sped faster around the pitch, trying to outwit the Slytherin seeker.

"Quaffle taken by the Slytherins – that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger – sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which – nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes – she's really flying – dodges a speeding Bludger – the goal posts are ahead – come on, now, Angelina – Keeper Bletchley dives – misses – GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

Loud cheers filled the pitch as three out of four houses shouted in excitement. The Slytherin boos were drowned out by the loud cheers.

Lee Jordan continued. "Chaser Pucey ducks two bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the – wait a moment – was that the Snitch?"

A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear. Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch – all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.

Harry was faster than Higgs – he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead – he put on an extra spurt of speed –

WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below – Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, while he held on for dear life.

"Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors. Off by the teacher's seats, Lily and Remus restrained James and Sirius as they leapt to their feet angrily, drawing their wands.

"Sit down!" Lily hissed, "You cannot hex a student!"

"That idiot nearly killed your son, Lily!" James snapped.

"Don't be dramatic. Nothing happened. Harry's fine," said Lily, though she did glare at the smirking form of Marcus Flint. "I'm going to talk to Severus and make sure that Flint gets detention for a week, but _don't_ hex him!"

James and Sirius sat down muttering, while Petunia and Remus gave them wary glances.

Off in the corner, he saw Snape smirking at him and felt his anger rise again, but remembrance of Lily's temper and what she would do to him if he even thought about hexing Snape kept him from leaping up and wiping the smirk from Snape's face.

Meanwhile, Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. "So – after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating – "

"Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul – "

"_Jordan, I'm warning you_ – "

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

It seemed as if the Slytherin beaters had made it their life goal to aim the bludgers only at Harry, heartened by the fact that their captain had prevented the Gryffindor seeker from catching the snitch. Soon, the game turned dirty as both Slytherin and Gryffindor gave up all sense of poise and cheated left and right. Fred and George Weasley, not to be outwitted by the Slytherin beaters, made it _their_ life goal to take out the Slytherin seeker Higgs. Madam Hooch was at her wits end as she ordered fouls left and right.

It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that his broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, he thought he was going to fall.

He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that. It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off.

Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal posts – he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out – and then he realized his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.

Lee was still commentating. "Slytherin in possession – Flint with the Quaffle – passes Spinnet – passes Bell – hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose – only joking, Professor – Slytherins score – oh no…"

The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.

Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand. Harry distinctly heard a scream that sounded like his mother's, but he wasn't sure. He was too busy concentrating on staying on his broom. Why was it behaving so strangely?

Harry's broom was now vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasley Twins flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good – every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.

"My baby's going to die!" Lily was sobbing into James's shoulder, not daring to look, as James patted her back reassuringly, his own face quite ashen.

"Wait a minute," Sirius said, glancing over the teacher's bleachers. "No student would be able to jinx a broom, a Nimbus 2000 at that—aha! Just as I thought!"

"What?" asked James, snapping around to look at whom Sirius was pointing at. His eyes narrowed. "Snivellus," he muttered darkly. Lily looked up.

"What?" she asked, noticing James's angry expression.

"Look at Snape," James said, pointing. Lily looked and saw her ex-friend, muttering something under his breath, his eyes constantly on Harry's broomstick.

"Snape is not jinxing Harry's broomstick James," she said, following his line of thought.

"Lily, the proof is right in front of your eyes. Why is he then looking at Harry's broom without blinking an eye, and muttering at that too?" James asked exasperatedly.

"I don't know. Snape may be a git sometimes, but he wouldn't kill a first year," said Lily. "There has to be another solution for this—hey!"

Someone had just bumped into her—a first year Gryffindor girl with bushy brown hair—pushing her into Professor Quirrel, who was sitting in front of her. The poor guy fell forward.

"I'm sorry!" said Lily, looking around for the girl. By Harry's description in his letters, it looked like Hermione Granger. But why was Hermione Granger in the teachers' bleachers?

Reaching Snape, Hermione crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes. Lily gasped. Did Hermione just set Snape's robes on fire? It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. Then he yelped and jumped up, breaking his eye contact with Harry. By this time, Hermione was gone as quickly as she had appeared.

When Lily looked up again by the cheers from James, Sirius, and Remus, Harry was back on his broomstick and speeding towards the goal posts to call for a time out. Wiping tears from her eyes, Lily sighed with relief, still perplexed with what had just happened. Had Snape really been jinxing the broom like Sirius and James insisted, or was something in the puzzle not right? And what was up with Hermione Granger's sudden appearance and disappearance? Had she suspected Snape too?

Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick – he hit the field on all fours – coughed – and something gold fell into his hand. "I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head.

The crowd was stunned for a moment, but then loud cheering broke out as on all sides, students ran out of the bleachers to hug Harry. Lily didn't even know what had happened. One moment, Harry was flying, and the next, he had the snitch in his hands. Shrugging, she ran out of the bleachers along with James, Sirius, and Remus and gave Harry a big hug, just happy that he was alright. It would be a long time before she understood the complexities associated with Quidditch.

"He didn't _catch_ it, he nearly _swallowed_ it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference – Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results – Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the month of November entered into December, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dudley found a lot of work to do, not only school work, but also trying to deduce what Hagrid had revealed to them soon after the Quidditch Match (which had resulted in a grand party in the Gryffindor Common Room-courtesy of Gred and Forge Weasley-by the way).

The quartet found their theory about Fluffy confirmed when Hagrid accidentally let slip that Fluffy-the three headed dog- was indeed guarding something, but that it was strictly between Professor Dumbledore and a man named Nicolas Flamel.

The four to them had tried their hardest to make Hagrid tell them who exactly this Nicolas Flamel was, but all they got was to "mind their own business".

Hermione had then tactfully switched the subject to Snape, telling Hagrid of her theory that it was Snape who had been jinxing Harry's broomstick, but Hagrid refuted that theory by claiming that Snape would never attack a Hogwarts Student, and that Professor Dumbledore had complete trust in Snape, so much so that Snape was one of the guardians of the—but here Hagrid stopped, realizing his mistake.

Now the Quartet knew that Snape was one of the guardians of whatever Fluffy was guarding, but what exactly "it" was, was beyond them. Hermione and Dudley felt that Snape could not be the only guardian of the mysterious object, since it was probably extremely important if Dumbledore hired a three headed vicious dog to guard it. But who were the other guardians?

Meanwhile, Dudley received a note from his mother, which kept thoughts of Fluffy and the mysterious object out of his mind.

_Dudley dear, it has been confirmed that on January 2, at strictly 9:00 PM, the court trial to gain custody of Duncan and Delilah is going to take place in the Crescent Hill Courthouse. Mrs. Jean Abbot, a magical lawyer who works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, is going to take up our case. Don't you worry dear. We'll get back the kids. Your aunt and uncle said they were going to confound the jury if need be. _

~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_One week later_

"Oh darn, mum and dad are going to Romania for Christmas—to visit Charlie," said Ron, glancing at the letter in front of him, "I guess I'm going to have to stay here for Christmas."

"Do you want to come stay at my place? I'm sure mum and dad would be glad to get to know you," offered Harry. Ron's face looked eager, but then his cheeks turned pink.

"Nah, Christmas is a time for family. Plus, don't you guys have that court case in January? I wouldn't want to impose," said Ron with embarrassment.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't be an idiot and just come."

Ron grinned and answered, "Fine then; but remember, if your parents don't like me, it's your fault."

Harry rolled his eyes again. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days. "We're going to have a full house anyway," he said, "Justin Finch-Fletchley is going to come over for two days after Christmas, and Aunt Harriet, my dad's sister, and her family is going to visit for the last week of break. We went to visit them last Christmas. Oh! And you'll be there for the annual New Years' party mum and dad host every year!"

Ron looked a lot more cheerful after this. It wouldn't be so bad that he'd have to spend Christmas without his family now. And he was eager to visit the Potter Manor, which was said to rival the Malfoy Manor in size and grandeur.

"Are Fred and George going to stay here?" asked Harry. "They can come too. I'm sure Uncle Padfoot and Dad would be eager to meet the ones who are "causing hell for the teachers of Hogwarts".

"Did we hear our name or what?" came the voice of Fred – or George – before Ron could reply back.

"Yea, Ron's going to come stay at my place for break. Do you guys want to come as well? Dad and Uncle Padfoot sounded eager in their letters to meet the "new generation of pranksters"," said Harry with a grin.

"Padfoot did you say?" asked George, in a strangely serious voice.

"_The_ Padfoot, one of the legendary Marauders," continued Fred in an awed tone, "is your _Uncle_?"

"Blimey Harry! Why didn't you tell us?" asked George in a strangled voice. Harry gave the two a strange look.

"Umm, well, Uncle Padfoot isn't really my Uncle. I just call him and Uncle Moony 'Uncle' because Dad and them are close friends," replied Harry.

"Wait, Sirius Black, one of the best Aurors in the Ministry of Magic, is _Padfoot_?" asked George.

"Uh yeah," said Harry, eying the two with a weird look. Ron joined him, never having seen his brothers this serious before. It was quite frightening actually.

"And Remus Lupin is Moony," said Fred, "meaning…."

"Your dad, James Potter, is Prongs!" finished George. Both the twins looked as if their birthday came early.

"Harry, we accept your invitation. Be ready to put up with us over break!" Fred and George both said as they rushed out of the Great Hall with gleeful looks on their faces.

"Weird," said Ron, getting back to his food. Harry just shook his head. He never tried to understand the antics of the Weasley twins.

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**A.N. Once again, I apologize for the long wait. But please don't punish me by not reviewing! ******** Kindly do take the time to review. Even a short one is good. I just want to know how I'm doing. **


	14. A Former Death Eater

**A.N. (Hi Guys; I am **_**so**_** sorry that I haven't updated for a long time, but I've been really busy with mid-terms, research papers, and such at college. I would like to give a **_**big**_** thanks to all my reviewers for such nice reviews. Your reviews have given me encouragement during times in which I've felt like ending this fan fiction. So thank you! I would also like to say one more thing about this chapter. I am not the best with court cases, as I've never gone to court and I haven't read many books about court cases, so please excuse any mistakes I have. I used to be in Law School, but my passion for English Literature made me change my major and I also had never been the best with memorizing dates and stuff, so….yeah. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Also, sorry for not updating the poll. I promise to do that by the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me, never did, and never will. Thank you.**

Chapter 14: A Former Death Eater

"Harry, Dudley!!" 8 year old Emma cried out, running towards her brother and cousin and giving them each a big teddy bear hug.

Harry laughed, slightly embarrassed. "Emma, how are you?" he asked. Behind him, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy were standing, grinning and waving at the Potter family. Well, Percy wore a dignified look – though he did smile politely – and adjusted his robes so that his prefect badge flashed at them all. Harry, who had remembered that poor Percy would be left all alone at Hogwarts with his brothers gone, had immediately invited him as well. It had taken some persuasion, but Percy in the end relented. After all, who wanted to be left alone at Christmas, which was a time for family and friends?

"You must be Harry's friends," Lily greeted them, wearing a warm smile, "I've heard so much about you from his letters. I hope you will feel at home at our house."

Saying so, she gave each of the Weasleys a big motherly hug. Ron flashed a grin at Harry and mouthed, "I like your mother." Harry returned an embarrassed but pleased smile.

"We thank you profusely for accepting us into your household, Mrs. Potter," Percy stated dignified, "And we would like to convey our parents' appreciation as well."

"It is nothing dear," said Lily with a welcoming smile. Percy reminded her a little of herself when she was young. Fred and George snickered and Ron blushed furiously at his brother's overly decorous statement. Percy glared at them.

"Where's Dad, Mum?" asked Harry, noticing that his Dad wasn't there.

"He's still at work, honey. Apparently, there's been some trouble in the Auror Department and he and Sirius need to sort it out," Lily replied, leading the large group out of Platform 9 ¾.

"Oh," said Harry, a little disappointed, "Where're Anne, Diana, Will, and Aunt Petunia?" Harry and Dudley had decided that they weren't going to disclose their Aunt's secret identity as Professor Jane Birmingham even to their friends, as it was still too risky. So she had arrived at Godric's Hollow the day before, leaving aside her disguise and becoming Petunia Evans once again.

"They're all at home. Only Emma here wanted to accompany me," Lily said, looking lovingly at her youngest daughter. Emma grinned back at her.

"How's mum, Aunt Lily?" asked Dudley with anxiety. Lily smiled reassuringly at him.

"She's fine, sweetheart. The upcoming case seems to have strengthened her determination to get young Duncan and Delilah back. She's cooking right now; said she wanted some busy work to do. Needless to say, Isabella and the other house elves are not happy."

Chuckling, Harry and Dudley turned to their friends.

"Will we be able to meet Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony tonight?" asked Fred eagerly.

"Yeah I think so," replied Harry, "Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony usually come over for dinner quite often."

Fred and George started whispering to each other now, as if planning something.

"When are Aunt Harriet and her family coming over, Mum?" asked Harry.

"Oh I almost forgot," said Lily, "they're not coming over this year after all, as Uncle Emerson's mother is ill. They're going to spend time with Emerson's family, and are thinking about visiting us during the summer."

"Oh," said Harry, "That's too bad."

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"That was a delicious dinner, Aunt Petunia," complimented Harry that evening.

"Yea, it was superb," agreed Ron. Petunia beamed.

"Thank you dears," she replied, chuckling. "Do help yourselves to some Pudding."

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world," said Harry with a grin.

"We're home!" came a voice from the kitchen doorway. Everyone spun around on their seats and saw James and Sirius standing by the doorway, grinning tiredly at everyone. Fred and George leapt from their seats despite Percy's disapproving look and bounded to the surprised James and Sirius.

"We're pleased to make your acquaintance, Messrs Padfoot and Prongs," they proclaimed in a surprisingly serious tone – haha – who were they kidding?

"We can't believe we finally got the chance to meet you!" Fred exclaimed, sobbing onto George's shoulder. George acted in a similar manner. James and Sirius stared at them oddly.

"Lily dear, who is this?" asked James in a strange tone. Lily laughed.

"These are the Weasleys: Ron, Fred, George, and Percy. Remember, Harry wrote that they are going to spend the holidays with us," Lily replied, amused by Fred and George's antics.

"Oh," replied James, "Well then…..how do you know our nicknames?"

"Who doesn't?" asked George in an awed tone. "You are two of the legendary Marauders aren't you?"

"Of course!" replied Sirius pompously, "Who doesn't know us? Anyway though, seriously, how did you find out about us?"

"The Marauders Map of course!" replied Fred simply, "You did make that, didn't you?"

"The Marauders Map?" said James in a strangled tone, "You have the Marauders Map? With you?"

"Yea…" George said slowly, eyeing the two adults strangely.

"You got it from Filch's office?" asked Sirius in an awed tone.

"Yup, in our first year," said Fred proudly.

"First year? Man, you've gotta be good," said Sirius, grinning at the two pranksters.

"Okay you four, you can talk later," said Lily in a stern voice, "It's time to finish your dinner."

"Yes mum," said Sirius, earning a smack from Lily.

"Ow! Redheads…" Sirius muttered, rubbing his head.

"Oy! Who are you calling redheads?" said George in an insulted manner. Everyone laughed. Fred and George already seemed a part of the family. Will in particular was glancing at them as if they were Gods. '_Uh oh_,' though Harry, '_Fred, George, Will, Dad, and Sirius all in the same house together. This is going to be one interesting break._'

Ron leaned over to Harry and muttered, "Nicolas Flamel, you reckon we should ask your parents about him?"

"Are you kidding?" Harry whispered back to him, "Mum and Dad would become suspicious why we want to know about him. They'd ask all sorts of questions. Nah, we'd better find out ourselves. Anyway, we can check in the Potter Library. We have all sorts of books, Flamel's got to be in there somewhere!"

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It was indeed a very interesting break. Fred and George, accompanied by James, Sirius, Remus (who often visited when he found the time), and a very eager Will, entertained the household with pranks front and back. It had been declared that a Pranksters' War would be on between the three Marauders versus Fred, George, and Will, who had quickly become their faithful sidekick.

"My own son," James had complained sadly, shaking his head, "going against his own father."

"Oh get over it, Dad," Will had replied, grinning. James had then smirked and chased him around the house until he finally caught Will and attacked him with tickles.

Fred and George soon found out that the Marauders had not lost their touch despite being old (Sirius and James took great offense to this casual remark by Fred), and the Marauders came to realize that Fred and George were worthy opponents. Young Anne and Diana, quite intimidated by the Prank War, had often taken retreat in the Potter Library along with none other than Percy. He had been quite ecstatic to find that the Potters had a library that could rival Hogwarts' and spent the majority of his time there, his nose buried in a book. Lily and Remus (when he was not occupied in the Prank War or got tired of it) often joined him, and strangely (or maybe not so strangely), the three bonded. It was quite funny actually, to see two grown-ups having an intellectual conversation with a more serious 15 year old.

Harry, Ron, and Dudley, who did not want to be discovered by the grown-ups in the library (many suspicions would doubtless arise), each grabbed hold of a stack of books from the library and took them to Dudley's room, flipping through each one, but without success.

"If Hermione had been here, she would go bonkers over all these," Dudley remarked, chuckling.

Soon though, the spirit of approaching Christmas put Nicolas Flamel out of the Trio's minds and the books were returned to their rightful places in the Library. When the House's pranksters were not thus occupied, Harry, Ron, and Dudley spent time playing Quidditch with them in the large expanse behind the Potter Manor. The teams were always Harry, Dudley, Sirius, Will, and Fred against Ron, James, Remus, Anne, and George. Diana, like her Aunt Lily, preferred to watch instead of play, and Percy…..well he never played any sports, let alone Quidditch, did he?

Petunia's lawyer Jean Abbot, who was from the _Department of Magical Law Enforcement_, often came to the Potter Manor to converse with Petunia, James, and Lily. They would be shut in James's study for hours on end, while Dudley waited for news of the latest development from his mother. Harry and Ron tried their best to distract his mind during these times. The Marauders' Map helped substantially.

Fred and George, when they found out that the Marauders had lost the Marauders' Map to Filch in their Seventh Year due to the stupidity and ignorance of Wormtail (whose name is better left unsaid), returned it in due course, claiming that they had no need of it anymore, and that they had memorized everything anyway. Sirius had spent about half an hour sobbing over the old map, while James and Remus glanced eagerly at it. It was decided in the end that the map would be bequeathed to Harry, as it would come to more use for him than them, but with the promise that Harry would share it with Will (Anne and Emma would have no use for it anyway) when he came to Hogwarts.

Harry, Ron, and Dudley spent hours looking at the map, and noticing what each and every person was doing. They found the movements of Filch and Snape most amusing.

Christmas day was by far one of the best they had. Under the Christmas Tree, loads of presents were stacked, and the kids were only too happy to dig in. The Weasley children were pleasantly surprised to find gifts for them from Lily and James, Petunia, Sirius, and Remus, along with the ones their parents and friends sent over. Likewise, Harry and Dudley found presents for them from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with the ones of their friends and parents.

The large group of kids spent the day outside having a snowball fight, and then later watched _A Christmas Carol_ in Dudley's television. Even Percy was forced to have fun when his brothers pummeled him with snowballs, and he just _had_ to retaliate. When Percy found a lock on the Library doors (placed by James who wanted him to have fun for once), he was even induced into watching _A Christmas Carol_, and was surprised to find himself enjoying it.

The evening feast was the crowning glory, as everything that could possibly be eaten was served. After everyone had 3rd and even 4th helpings, the desserts, too numerous to count, were brought in.

Perhaps even better than the feast was the spectacle performed by Fred, George, and Percy after dinner. Fred and George had charmed Percy's prefect badge to say "Perfect Princess Percy" instead of "Percy the Prefect", and Percy had chased them around the house trying to get it back and change it. In the end, Lily, who felt pity for him, convinced Fred and George to return it and change it back.

All in all, it was a perfect ending to a perfect day, and everyone went to sleep contented.

Soon after Christmas, Justin Finch Fletchley came over to visit for two days, and the large group of kids spend most of their time outdoors, playing Quidditch or having snowball fights. Harry and Ron, who hadn't found much time to get to know Justin in Hogwarts, found him to be a pleasant sort of boy, though he was a bit naïve when it came to pranks. Poor Justin became the butt of Fred and George's pranks before Dudley told them to stop.

The Annual New Year's Party, hosted by Lily and James every year, was a grand event to which many Wizarding families, and nearly all ministry officials, came to. Kids, until they reached the age of 15, were forbidden to come to it, so Harry and his friends and siblings were told to stay on the top floors, away from the Ballroom. But Fred and George could not let such a big event go to waste could they – without one teensy weensy little prank?

It was with horror that a Ministry Official with the name of Dolores Umbridge found her wand replaced by a fake wand, so that when she tried to use it, it turned into a chicken and frightened the living daylights out of her. Not only that, when she took a sip of her (spiked) punch to calm herself, she had done a crazy little tap dance all over the dance floor, much to the amusement of the rest of the guests. After it wore off, she had stormed out of the fireplace seething with anger, but not before yelling into Lily's face, "I'm never coming to another of your terrible parties! You and your crazy lot – Lord help you!"

It had taken all of Lily's will power not to yell back, "Good Riddance!" But that would not have looked good in front of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge's presence, so she desisted. Fred and George had broken into fits of laughter upstairs along with the others, but surprisingly, the blame did not go to them. Lily seemed to think Sirius and James had something to do with it, and gave them a telling off the next morning, a fact which seemed to amuse Fred and George even more.

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Two days after the eventful New Years' Party, everyone woke up with a damper on their spirits. Today was the court case. Only Dudley and Diana would be accompanying their mother, uncle, aunt, and lawyer to Crescent Hill Courthouse. It would be absurd if everyone else came.

"Everything will be okay. Remember what we discussed," Lily whispered to her sister, pressing her hand in reassurance.

"Wouldn't it be much easier if we just kidnapped Duncan and Delilah?" asked James, trying to lighten up the mood. Lily smacked him on the arm.

"That's not funny," she said.

"Sorry," he had muttered back.

~*~*~*~

One hour later, they were in the Crescent Hill Courthouse, ten minutes early and looking prim and proper, er….well, Dudley and Diana not so much. They kept fidgeting on their seats. Petunia looked pale, but determined. James and Lily looked calm and composed, exchanging looks with Jean Abbot, Petunia's lawyer.

Five minutes after they had arrived, Vernon and his wife walked through the courtroom with a pompous and over-confident look. Yvonne _Dursley_ looked over at Petunia and smirked. Petunia glared at her, and smirked as well. Yvonne didn't know that a simple _confounding_ charm could wipe that smirk off her face. Dudley and Diana chanced a look at their father, but he avoided their glances. Diana sniffled a little, and Dudley pressed her hand reassuringly.

Yvonne and Vernon took a seat on the chairs opposite where Lily, James, Petunia, Dudley, and Diana sat. With the Dursley couple came Marge Dursley, Vernon's sister, a woman who looked like Yvonne (she was probably her sister), and their lawyer, a tall distinguished looking man wearing a nonchalant expression. James, Lily, and Jean Abbot, busy whispering with each other, did not see him, and when they finally looked up, he had taken his seat next to Vernon. Of course, the large size of Vernon Dursley completely blocked his figure.

Right on time, the judge entered the court house. Taking a seat at the large table in the front of the Court House, he cleared his throat and said in a loud booming voice, "Everyone being present, let us begin." After everyone took a seat, he continued, "We are present here today to come to a decision on the custody of Mr. Duncan Dursley and Miss Delilah Dursley, the illegitimate children of Mr. Vernon Dursley and the previous Ms. Yvonne Summers."

It pained Petunia immensely to hear poor Duncan and Delilah being called _illegitimate_, and she wanted more than anything to take them away with her, far from Vernon and Yvonne, but she knew she would have to be patient. Lily gave Petunia's hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled slightly at her. "Everything will be okay Tuney," she whispered, as she and Petunia turned back to the judge and listened intently to the rest of his opening statement. After he was done, Petunia was called up.

Turning slightly pale but looking determined, Petunia marched up confidently to the chair and sat down on it. Mrs. Abbot was going to question her first, so she was not so nervous now. They had gone over everything many times back at the Potter Manor.

"Miss Evans, for how many years were you married to Mr. Vernon Dursley?" asked Mrs. Abbot.

"11 years," Petunia replied promptly.

"What caused you to divorce him six months ago?" Mrs. Abbot continued.

"I received news of his infidelity to me," Petunia replied.

"How?

"I found some documents in the attic of our home at Privet Drive, stating that Duncan and Delilah were not my natural children. I confronted Vernon, and he confessed to the truth."

"What kind of a friend was Miss Yvonne Summers to you? Did she seem like one of the motherly types?"

"Not at all," replied Petunia, "She was an active woman, and loved to travel. I hardly ever knew where to send her the latest news of my domestic life, because her addresses changed so often. She told me many times that she had no intention of settling down and having children."

"What kind of children are Duncan and Delilah?"

"They are – are – such darlings. Sure, they were a bit spoiled and misbehaved at times, but they were no different from other kids their age."

"How do they look?"

"Well, they have mostly traits from Vernon's side of the family, but now I see that they have lots of Yvonne's features too."

"Did you raise them since their birth?"

"Yes; I thought them to be my own children until six months ago, when Vernon told me the truth."

"So they are not your natural children, but you raised them as if they were your own flesh and blood, right?"

"Yes, that's right," replied Petunia, "And I still love them as if they are my own. _I _raised them since they were babies, _I_ was the one who nursed them when they were ill, and _I_ was the one whom they called 'mum'."

"Thank you, Ms. Evans," said Mrs. Abbot with a small smile, before going back to her seat. Lily gave Petunia a thumbs up, and Dudley and Diana smiled at their mother.

Then Vernon and Yvonne's lawyer, a man named Charles Bullstrode, stood up and walked over to Petunia. Dudley gasped. "He looks exactly like Millicent Bullstrode back at Hogwarts," he said. James had his mouth agape as well.

"Bullstrode was a former Death Eater," he said, "One of the first to come over to our side claiming to have been under the Imperius Curse; codswallop in my opinion."

"But how – why did Vernon hire him? Even if he doesn't know about Bullstrode's magical blood, it does not make sense for Bullstrode to work for Vernon," Lily said with confusion and increasing worry.

"Something fishy is going on," James said with narrow eyes, "No way would a former Death Eater become the lawyer of muggles, and muggles like the Dursleys at that."

Vernon, glancing over at the Potters, smirked with satisfaction to see their confusion and worry. James and Lily returned his smirk, not to be bothered by him, but still – this proved that Vernon knew of Bullstrode's magic. What was going on?

"James, Sirius and Remus _are_ watching over the kids, right?" Lily asked, worry suddenly creeping into her heart.

"Yes of course," replied James, looking at her with surprise.

"I don't know, but I suddenly feel worried. Something's not right. I can feel that something's going to happen," Lily said with a worried look.

James squeezed her shoulders reassuringly, and was about to reply when Charles Bullstrode began his interrogation of Petunia.


	15. Deception: Part 1

**Disclaimer: All I'm saying is that JK Rowling is one lucky woman to own Harry Potter.**

**Results for Poll #6: (Which Marauder do you like best?) Sirius Black (10 votes), Remus Lupin (7 votes), James Potter (5 votes), Peter Pettigrew (0 votes)**

**Poll #7: (Do you think Harry **_**Potter and the Half Blood Prince**_** Movie is going to be a satisfying adaptation of the HBP book?) Please remember to vote!**

**Chapter 15: Deception: Part 1**

"By the verdict of the Jury, I hereby declare that Ms. Petunia Evans has been given full custody of Mr. Duncan Dursley and Miss Delilah Dursley," stated the judge, standing up.

"I can't believe it," whispered Lily, "She – she actually won. Petunia actually won!" She exchanged a shocked but elated glance with James.

"I was sure when Bullstrode was going up that chances were minimal," said James, chancing a glance at the Dursleys, "And no offense to your sister, Lills, but her answers were pretty shaky too." The Dursleys eyes were unfocused and unaffected, as if they did not care that they had just lost, but that couldn't be it….what was going on?

"Lily," gasped James, realization dawning on him.

"What James?" asked Lily, turning towards him with concern.

"The Dursleys – could they be – do you think they're under the Imperius Curse?" asked James, shock reflecting in his eyes.

"The Imperius Curse?" asked Lily, her eyes widening, "They can't be – can they?"

"I don't know, but look. They don't seem affected at all that they just lost. Consider their expressions before and during the trial," replied James suspiciously. Lily glanced over at the Dursleys and narrowed her eyes.

"I see," she said, "What are we going to do? I mean – how can we be sure?"

"Don't know, but for now, let's not do anything. After all, your sister did gain custody of the kids, and plus, we have no proof. I need to speak with Sirius," said James.

"Lily!" said Petunia, hurrying over to her sister as people started filing out of the court room. "We won – can you believe it – we won!"

"I know; it's great Tuney," said Lily, covering up her worry and smiling for her sister.

"Thanks for all your help James," said Petunia, turning to James, "It would have been impossible for all this to happen without you, Lily, and Mrs. Abbot."

"No problem Petunia," said James with a smile.

"Let's go then, shall we?" asked Lily, checking her watch, "It's past 2:00, and we need to relieve Sirius and Remus from their baby setting job. Lord knows what mischief Will has been getting into, especially with Fred and George supporting him."

James nodded his head when Mrs. Abbot called him from behind, "James, can I have a word privately, please? It's about the Sterling Case back at the Ministry; I have a court hearing at 5:00 and I need to get some things straight."

Lily raised her eyebrows questioningly at her husband, but James only shrugged and said, "I'll be back in five minutes." Saying so, he followed Mrs. Abbot to a small room in the back of the courthouse.

"What did you want to know, Jean?" asked James politely as the door closed behind them. Mrs. Abbot turned towards him, and James was shocked to find that her face had the same unfocused look as the Dursleys.

"Jean?" asked James, "Are you okay?" But Mrs. Abbot did not reply. Instead, she glanced at something – or someone – behind James's shoulder, and James whipped around drawing his wand. But he was too late, and before he could protest, he was on the floor unconscious.

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"Lily, it's past ten minutes; do you think something's wrong?" asked Petunia, glancing at the door James had gone through.

"Hmm, I'm sure everything's alright," said Lily, "It's only five minutes past; I'll wait another five before going in." But she couldn't mask the worry filling her heart.

"Aunt Lily," when are we going to get Duncan and Delilah?" asked Dudley, peering up at his Aunt along with Diana.

"Today evening, dear; we just have to drive over to Privet Drive and pick them up," replied Lily.

"There he is," said Petunia suddenly, pointing at the door. Lily turned around and smiled in relief as she saw James walking towards them, his hands in his pockets. But something about the way he walked was off key. Shaking her head to clear away worried thoughts, Lily walked towards him.

"What took so long?" she asked, "I was going to come in myself after five minutes."

"Nothing," said James gruffly, shrugging off the hand Lily placed on his shoulder. Lily stared at him with surprise and exchanged a worried look with Petunia.

"Is everything alright, James?" asked Lily, "Is something on your mind?"

"Nothing, alright?" James snapped. Lily stared at him and then narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, irritated, "You were fine ten minutes ago, and then you come here snapping at me!"

James took a deep breath and smiled apologetically, "Sorry Lily; something's just on my mind. Let's go home, okay? I'm tired."

Lily was taken aback at his sudden change in tone but said, "Alright, let's go."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Daddy!" Emma cried out, running towards her father and hugging him around his middle. She was followed by the large group of kids headed by Harry.

"Dad!" he said eagerly, "So did you – what happened?"

"We won!" said Dudley happily, as Diana and Anne hugged each other in their happiness. Harry and Dudley exchanged a high-five, as Ron gave a thumbs up.

"That's great!" said Harry enthusiastically, "Congratulations Aunt Petunia!"

"Thank you dear," said Petunia with a smile. The kids soon bored of the talk and went off to the backyard to play Quidditch.

"Where's Sirius Black?" asked James, looking around. Lily shot him a weird look at the usage of Sirius's name.

"I'm right here, Prongs," said Sirius, walking towards them followed by Remus, "And since when have you called me by my last name?"

"Um – never; just for old time's sake, you know?" said James, grinning weakly. Sirius looked at him weirdly as Remus raised his eyebrows at Lily, who only shrugged.

"How were the kids, Remus?" asked Lily, "They didn't cause any trouble, did they?"

"Nah," said Remus with a grin, "They were fine; Will did make us run a bit, but that's usual isn't it? But he soon tired of making us old men run after him and went to bug the Weasley Twins."

"Hey, who are you calling old?" Sirius complained, punching Remus's shoulder good-naturedly, "I'm still fit and young, I tell you."

Remus rolled his eyes and Lily chuckled.

"Guys, can you keep down the volume?" asked James, not in the least bit amused at his friends' antics. "Sirius, I need to talk to you."

"Um – okay," said Sirius, shooting a confused glance at Lily, who only shrugged.

"What's got _his_ knickers tied in a knot?" Remus asked Lily as James and Sirius disappeared through the doorway leading to James's study.

"I don't know, but he's been acting really strange ever since the hearing was over," said Lily worriedly.

"I'm sure he's fine," said Remus reassuringly, "He's probably just tired from work."

"I hope so," said Lily, concern etched all over her face.

A few minutes later, Lily and Remus whipped around as Sirius stalked out of James's study quickly, running out the front door and disappearing with a crack. James then came out, his face at ease.

"James, what in the world just happened?" asked Lily, "Why did Sirius just run out in a hurry?"

"Nothing important," said James waving his head nonchalantly, "He just received a note from the office to come to work as soon as possible. Remus, you look terrible."

Remus and Lily exchanged a look at James's simple remark and change of subject. "It _is_ the full moon tonight," Remus pointed out, "Or have you forgotten?"

"Nope," said James, "Of course I haven't. Why would I forget?" Remus sighed in relief at James's remark.

"So are you going to stay for dinner?" asked James, smiling at Remus.

"James," said Remus, frowning, "Are you serious?"

James glanced with confusion at Remus's hurt and confused look and Lily's shocked expression, but then covered it up by saying, "Of course not! Just playing with you, Remus."

"Okay…" said Remus slowly. Then, turning to Lily, he said, "I have to go now, Lily, see you. Bye James."

"James!" Lily exclaimed after Remus left, "How could you be so insensitive!"

"What are you talking about?" asked James, frowning at Lily, "I was only joking Lily; you know that."

"No, I don't know that," said Lily, returning James's frown, "You were never so thoughtless James, even when joking around with your friends."

"Um, sorry?" said James, shrugging his shoulders and walking away.

"Where are you going?" Lily demanded. James turned to her with a sarcastic look on his face.

"I'm sure I have the right to go anywhere I want in my own house, Lily," said James, "I'm only going to my office room; chill." With that, he disappeared through the door Sirius had previously come out of and closed the door on his wife, leaving her stunned.

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**A.N. (Sorry for the short chapter. Hopefully the next one will be longer. Please review!)**


	16. Temporary Hiatus

**Temporary Hiatus**

Guys, I'm really sorry to tell you that unfortunately, my story's going to be put on temporary hiatus for awhile. I don't know how long it will be before I can write again, but my grandfather recently died and it's been really hectic lately. I just can't get into the mood to write either, so please forgive me if you were waiting for the next update. All of your reviews have convinced me not to give up on this story, so thanks a lot for that, but I won't be updating anytime soon. Just wanted to let you know…

~Elizabeth~


	17. Deception: Part 2

**Disclaimer****: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be sitting here typing away now, would I? ;) JK Rowling is one lucky brilliant woman. Hats off to her!**

**A.N.**** (Hello my faithful reviewers (and anyone else who is taking their precious time to read my fanfic), I am back and ready to continue this fan fiction. Thanks a million to all of you for waiting so patiently for me to continue! Without all of your comforting reviews, I don't think I would have been able to continue this story. But one thing I've learnt from my experience at …..if you're going to start a story, you'd better finish it. ;D I know how it feels when you're reading a story and the author quits it. It's just so annoying! So I promise all of you that I **_**will**_** finish this fanfic once and for all. I have summer break now, so I'll also try to update faster, but do bear with me if I take too long, okay? Thank you!**

**It has been hard coping with my grandfather's death, but I know that he wouldn't have liked me to mope and be sad about it all the time, so I'm not going to let that affect my writing. Thank you all so much for your comforting words. They helped a lot when I felt myself getting sad. Now…I'll stop blabbering and start the chapter. :D)**

_**Recap (so that if you forgot what happened, you don't have to go back and read it if you don't want to): Lily, James, and Petunia win the court case too easily. They're suspicious that something is fishy, but don't dwell too much on it. James is called aside for a few minutes by Mrs. Abbot and something happens. When he returns, he acts different. When Lily, James, and Petunia return home, James hurts Remus's feelings by inviting him for dinner when he knows it's the full moon. Lily knows something is wrong but doesn't know exactly what. **_

**Chapter 16: Deception: Part 2**

_One week later later_

James awoke dazedly, groaning as he felt the cold hard floor underneath him. Where was he? Shivering as he felt sharp cold wind pierce him through the thin cloth of his clothes, he rubbed his eyes and looked around. He was in a small icy cellar type of place, enclosed on all four sides by large stone slabs. There was no window, but one small door on top of a small flight of steps. He must be in someone's cellar, he thought. James did not know exactly what happened, but he remembered being hit by a curse and slumping to the floor. That Jean Abbot had tricked him. She had lured him into being kidnapped.

'_What if she's not really Abbot?'_ a voice in his head said. James agreed with the voice, though he felt stupid agreeing with himself. Jean Abbot was known for her strict adherence to law and justice. She would never join hands with a former death eater, even when threatened with her life. _'She must have been either under the Polyjuice potion or the Imperius curse,'_ he thought, finding that more likely, _"And Charles Bullstrode must have concocted this whole plan. Of course! It all makes sense now. He must have heard about the upcoming trial in the Daily Prophet, went to Vernon in the guise of a distinguished lawyer, and 'worked' for him in order to get closer to me. What better place to carry out an abduction than a muggle court house? But why kidnap me? What exactly do they want me for?"_

Just then, James saw the small door to the cellar creak open and two sets of thudding footsteps descend the stairs. He squared himself, though it was a bit hard since his hands and feet were binded by thick steel chains. Just as he had predicted, Charles Bullstrode came into view, accompanied by none other than –

"Quirrel!" he cried out in a shocked tone, recognizing the current DADA professor at Hogwarts.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Potter," Quirrel greeted in a smooth tone, no trace of his previous stutter visible.

"Why did you two bring me here? Let me go this instant and I may spare your lives!" James snapped.

"You are in no position to threaten us, Potter," Bullstrode sneered, drawing closer, "You are in our mercy now, and it would be in your interest to grant us what we want."

"What do you want?" James asked suspiciously, though not at all intent on giving them what they wanted. It would no doubt be something that would endanger not only his life, but others as well.

Nodding at Bullstrode, Quirrel too drew closer and said in a quiet but serious tone, "The Sorcerer's Stone."

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"Take care; don't get into too much trouble, and remember, study hard! We'll see you at Easter Holidays," said Lily, giving Harry, Dudley, and the rest of the children kisses and hugs. The Hogwarts Express was getting ready to return the kids to their second term of school, and everywhere parents were bidding goodbye to their children and wishing them luck.

"Mum, is Dad alright?" Harry asked worriedly. During rest of the Christmas holidays, James had barely been in the house, leaving early and returning late. He had told everyone that things were busy at the office, and Sirius, though confirming that to be true, had told Lily that James had been keeping his office door locked and had refused to talk to anyone unless it was important.

"Don't worry, sweetie; he's just a bit busy, that's it," said Lily, trying to keep the worry out of her face and waving to the kids as they boarded the train.

"Dudley dear, your mother sends her love; she's still house hunting so she couldn't come. Diana, Duncan, and Delilah are with her, so they too bid you good bye," Lily called to her nephew as the train began moving. Dudley nodded and waved goodbye, finally returning to his compartment when platform 9 ¾ was no longer in view.

Lily sighed and closed her eyes as she apparated home. She had been getting a nagging feeling in her heart ever since the day of the court case. James was acting just too weird, and her gut feeling was telling her that this was not her husband. Something had happened and she was intent on getting to the bottom of it. She had done nothing during the previous week because too many kids had been in the house and if Death Eaters were involved as she suspected, she had not wanted to endanger them. Now that most of the kids were at Hogwarts, she would put her plan into action as soon as she sent Anne, Emma, and Will off to stay at Remus's for the day. It was good that Diana, Duncan, and Delilah were with Petunia. The less she was responsible for more children's lives at the moment, the better.

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"Don't you guys think something's awfully wrong at home?" Harry asked as soon as he and the others had settled into a compartment. Fred and George had left moments ago to sit with their best friend Lee Jordan while Percy left to join the other prefects. Soon after, Neville and Justin Finch Fletchley had joined him, Ron, and Dudley.

"Wrong, what's wrong at your home, Harry?" came a voice from the compartment doorway. Hermione Granger stood there, a confused look on her face.

"Hey Hermione," Harry greeted as soon as she took her seat across from him and next to Dudley.

"Hello Harry, Ron, Dudley, Neville, Justin," Hermione greeted enthusiastically, "How were your holidays? Mine was absolutely fantastic but I cannot wait to go back to Hogwarts! My mum and dad took me to the museum the day after Christmas and then we went to visit my cousins in France. My cousin Jenna has the most awesome collection of books ever! I cannot _wait_ to tell you all about it – wait, how did the court case go, Dudley?"

"Oh, it was fine," Dudley said amusedly, "My mum got custody of all four of us now."

"Congratulations!" Hermione said happily, then, "Wait…did you say something was wrong at your home, Harry? Is everything all right?"

"I _was_ going to talk about that actually," said Harry, shaking his head, "My dad had been acting really weird the past week….ever since the court case. He came home being all…different. If it hadn't been for his appearance, I wouldn't know it was him. Know what I mean?"

"Hmm…" Hermione said, looking confused, "Did something weird happen during the court case?"

"Not exactly," Dudley said, "Everything was fine, but….Uncle James and Aunt Lily said that Dad's lawyer, Charles Bullstrode or something, was a former Death Eater. Apparently he was one of the first to return to the 'good side' claiming to be under the Imperius Curse."

"The Imperius Curse…" Hermione muttered, "I heard of that before…" She rummaged through her trunk and finally took out a thick book of Advanced Spells. Flipping through the pages, she stopped after awhile and said, "Of course! The Imperius Curse is one of the three Unforgiveables, the other two being Cruciatus and the Killing Curse. The use of any of these three curses can land someone in Azkaban – for life!"

"Wow," Dudley murmured, "I never heard of these before."

"I heard of them from Dad and Sirius a few years ago when they were talking about someone's trial in the Ministry," Harry said.

"What does the Imperius do?" Ron asked from his spot next to Harry.

"One using the Imperius Curse can control the minds of whomever they're casting it on," said Hermione, "They can make them do absolutely anything – for as long as they want."

"It sounds terrible," Ron said, a horrified expression on his face. They all then noticed Neville's silent form on the end of the seat.

"What's wrong, Neville?" Justin asked.

"N – nothing," Neville said, shaking his head and giving them a watery smile. They gave him suspicious looks but decided to leave it. Harry and Dudley bit their lips and looked away from the others. They knew of Neville's parents' condition, overhearing it from James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus's conversation one day a year ago, but they knew it wasn't their place to tell the others. If Neville did not want anyone to know, they had to respect his privacy.

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"The Sorcerer's Stone?" asked James, wondering how the Stone was related to his kidnapping, "What do I have to do with the Sorcerer's Stone?"

"Don't play fool with us, Potter!" Bullstrode snapped. With a flick of his wand and a silent incantation under his breath, James was on the floor writhing with pain. He bit his lip hard to stop the screams which threatened to escape his mouth. He would never give the two Death Eaters the satisfaction of seeing him in pain. After Bullstrode lifted the curse, James breathed heavily, trying to regain his breath and wiping at his sweaty face.

"Now tell us, what's your protection?" asked Quirrel, still serious looking.

"What are you talking about?" asked James, genuinely confused. But then it started to sink in.

"The protection you and Sirius Black are talking part in to protect the Sorcerer's Stone. We know that you two and a handful of the other professors (including me) are giving various protections to the Sorcerer's Stone," spat Quirrel, "It's simple passing the other teachers' protections, but I cannot get past yours and Black's. Now tell me, how do you do it?"

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" James spat back, dropping his confusion. Was Quirrel really so stupid to think that he'd just tell them part of one of Dumbledore's greatest secrets – just to escape? Quirrel looked furious at his answer but Bullstrode simply glanced at him calmly, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Perhaps the lives of your family members aren't so important to you after all, Potter," he said quietly, drawing forward and bending on one knee so that he was face to face with James, "I have to admit, I'm surprised. Here I was thinking you'd do anything to keep your precious wife and kids safe, but it seems you aren't so 'noble' a Gryffindor, are you?"

"You wouldn't dare hurt them!" James spat, dismay covering his face. He hadn't thought about Lily and the kids.

"Wouldn't we?" sneered Bullstrode, standing up and walking a few steps back. He then stopped abruptly and said in a business-like voice, "Lord Voldemort gives you two days Potter. It will be in your best interest, and that of your family's as well, to relinquish the secret of the last protection we need to know in order to obtain the Sorcerer's Stone for our master. If you continue to be stubborn and foolish, you may never see your family again – alive."

"And remember," continued Quirrel, looking more at calm now and sneering himself, "You son and nephew are at Hogwarts, where I will be shortly – and for the rest of the year. You do remember your – ah – _dearly loved_ friend Pettigrew don't you? If I remember correctly, his animagus is a rat, and furthermore, I believe Mr. Ronald Weasley has a rat for a pet? I believe you are smart enough to make a connection? Both Pettigrew and I will be at Hogwarts, and Pettigrew will have access to Gryffindor Tower itself thanks to Mr. Weasley."

"And," said Bullstrode, chuckling at James's outraged expression, "We have sent one of our own members in your disguise – under polyjuice potion to be precise – to your home so that your dear wife will suspect nothing. No one knows you're here Potter, and no one knows that there is a Death Eater – Rodolphus Lestrange if you want to know who – with your wife and other kids in Godric's Hollow. If you do not submit to our request in two days, do not think we will hesitate to dispose of your family. Goodnight…" With that, both he and Quirrel marched out of the dark cellar room, cackling.

James was in shock. Rodolphus Lestrange was at Godric's Hollow? _The_ Rodolphus Lestrange who was part of the group who had tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom? And _Scabbers_ was Wormtail? Since when??? And how had he not known? How had Sirius and Remus not known? They were always in the house during Christmas Break, while Scabbers was there _within_ their sight! And Lily…she didn't know about any of this. James bit his lip when he thought about Lily and the smaller kids. And Harry and Dudley…who were completely at the mercy of Quirrel and Wormtail at Hogwarts.

'_Lily's smart,'_ James thought, '_Lestrange will never be able to pull this off for long. She's bound to notice something's wrong. But will she be able to notice and do something about it before the two days are complete? I'll try to stall as much time as possible. Never will I reveal the last phase of the protection Sirius and I worked so hard over! But if my family's lives are in line….I don't know how long I can hold out.'_

**A.N. (Well, that's it for this chapter. Please tell me if the length of this chapter is satisfactory to you or if you want me to write more for the next chapter. ******** I promise there will be more Harry and Dudley in the next chapter, and lots of drama! Please do review, and I once again apologize for the extremely long wait. I'll be quicker for the next chapter…promise!)**


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